2025 (Current Year) Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Humanities and social science courses
History A
- Academic unit or major
- Humanities and social science courses
- Instructor(s)
- Isami Sawai
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-6 Mon
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- LAH.H105
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2025
- Offered quarter
- 2Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 19, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Introduction to historical studies
This course aims to learn basic knowledge and historical thinking. It will start from what “learning history/ learning from history” means, and introduce historiography, historical philosophy, various approaches of historical studies, gender history, and others. Also, it will point out the problems of historical revisionism through reviewing the “empirical approach” that constitutes the foundation of the current historical studies. Furthermore, it will introduce various types of historical materials, explain the importance of historical archives, and the method of actively opening the documents by resorting to information disclosure and others.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand the historical background of contemporary society by gaining knowledge and basic historical thinking.
2) Learn how to express their own opinions in an appropriate way through submitting reaction papers after each class.
3) Establish an intellectual basis in order to work together with a variety of people in this globalizing world by comprehending diverse aspects of history
Keywords
History, Historography, "Empirical approach", Historical revisionism, Gender history, Public documents, Letter, Diary, Oral history, Archives, Information disclosure
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Lecture-style with PPT slides. At the end of each class, students are required to submit reaction papers that include their questions, feedbacks, and opinions about the lecture. If needed, the lecturer will provide additional explanations and answers to these reactions at the beginning of the next class. This mutual communication will enable students to deepen their understanding of the class.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Introduction | Explain the course description, learning outcomes, reference books, assessment criteria and others. |
| Class 2 | Learning history/ Learning from history | Reconsider the meaning of learning history/ learning from history in the confusion of historical thinking in today’s society. |
| Class 3 | Historiography and historical approaches | Understand the main points of historiography, historical philosophy, historical approaches in Japanese academia, historical methods in social sciences, gender history, and others. |
| Class 4 | “Empirical approach” and historical revisionism | Investigate the characteristics of the “empirical approach” as a foundation of contemporary historical studies, as well as the problems of historical revisionism in relations to it. |
| Class 5 | Historical materials | Enjoy the world of history on the basis of various historical materials such as public documents, letters, diaries, oral histories, and others. |
| Class 6 | Archives and information disclosure | Understand archives where historical materials are stored, organised, and opened to public, as well as the importance and problems of public documents management and information disclosure. |
| Class 7 | End-of-term exam/ Summary of the course | Conduct end-of-term exam in order to check students’ understanding level/ Summarize the content of the introduction to historical studies. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to reference books and other course materials.
Textbook(s)
No textbook
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Reference Books on the entire course are as follows (no need to purchase)
1. Yusaku Matsuzawa, Rekishigaku ha Kou Kangaeru [Introduction to historical approach], Chikuma Shobō, 2024
2. Department of History, College of Liberal Arts, University of Tokyo, Tōdai Renzoku Kōgi Rekishigaku no Shikōhō [University of Tokyo Lecture series, historical thinking], Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2020
3. Junnosuke Masumi, Naze Rekishiga Kakeruka [Why can we write history?], Tokyo: Chikura Shobō, 2008
Other books will also be introduced during the lecture if needed
Evaluation methods and criteria
End-of-term exam 80% (closed-book, essay-style), Reaction papers 20%
Related courses
- History B
- History C
- LAH.S414 ： Essence of Humanities and Social Sciences14:History
Prerequisites
It is desirable to have prior knowledge of junior high or high school level of history. Nevertheless, the lecturer will proceed the course along with providing basic knowledge of history during the lectures.
Contact information (e-mail and phone) Notice : Please replace from ”[at]” to ”@”(half-width character).
sawai.i.1085[at]m.isct.ac.jp
Office hours
Students can contact the lecturer in advance.