Collaboration across STEM and Liberal Arts: Considering a history of military technology [1]

Academic unit or major

Humanities and social science courses

Instructor(s)

Toma Kawanishi

Class Format

Lecture (Livestream)

Media-enhanced courses

-

Day of week/Period
(Classrooms)

1-4 Sat

Class

-

Course Code

LAH.C647

Number of credits

100

Course offered

2025

Offered quarter

4Q

Syllabus updated

Sep 1, 2025

Language

Japanese

Syllabus

Course overview and goals

This course is a 1-credit course.
Only students who meet the conditions ① and ② can enroll.
① Be enrolled before 2021.
② You must have already earned one credit in a liberal arts advanced subject.
Students enrolled in 2022 or later cannot take this course.

The Interdisciplinary Collaborative Course (文理共創科目) is a newly introduced seminar-style course starting from the academic year 2024. Each session features guest speakers at the forefront of various fields who deliver lectures and engage in discussions with enrolled students. Adopting a seminar format allows for the exploration of new developments and possibilities in convergence science alongside doctoral students from participating graduate schools.

The class size is limited to 50 students per session, and if exceeded, a lottery will be conducted before the start of the class.
Lottery date: Enrollment status as of Monday, November 17, 12:00 noon will be used to conduct the lottery.
Notification of lottery results: Results will be announced via LMS (or similar) by Friday, November 21.
After this date: If enrollment exceeds capacity due to additional registrations, places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and registration will close once the class is full.

Group work will primarily be conducted in English, but the use of Japanese is permissible if agreed upon within the group. Facilitation and lectures by the instructor will be conducted in Japanese, utilizing the translation function on Zoom.

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The goal of this course is to provide graduate students in science and engineering with an opportunity to critically engage with the topic of military affairs and to foster a nuanced understanding of the relationship between science, technology, and the military. In today’s world, questions such as "What counts as military technology?" and "Where do we draw the line between civilian and military applications of technology?" have become increasingly relevant for our students and alumni.

This course approaches these issues through historical case studies in the history of science and technology, examining how scientific and technological developments have intersected with military needs and priorities. By analyzing these historical dynamics, students will develop the ability to engage in informed, balanced, and evidence-based discussions on the role of science and technology in military contexts.

Course description and aims

To establish a conceptual foundation for engaging in rational discourse regarding the issues surrounding science, technology, and the military, and to cultivate the capacity for such discourse.

Keywords

Military technology, history of technology, dual-use, non-weapon military technology, space development, nuclear weaponry, radar.

Competencies

• Specialist skills
• Intercultural skills
• Communication skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

Online lecture via Zoom. The first half consists of a lecture by a guest speaker followed by a Q&A session. The second half involves discussions and group work based on the content of the first half (total 100 minutes).

Course schedule/Objectives

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 textbooks and other course material.

Textbook(s)

None Specified

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Instructions will be given in the course of the lecture

Evaluation methods and criteria

Evaluation will be based on attendance for each session and a final report. The length of the end-of-quarter report should be between 3,000-4,000 Japanese characters or 1500-2000 words in English. Grades will be determined by a pass/fail assessment, and numerical scores will not be assigned.

Related courses

• LAH.S416 ： Essence of Humanities and Social Sciences16:History of Technology

Prerequisites

There are no formal prerequisites. Students are expected, at minimum, to be willing to respect diverse opinions and to participate in discussions, irrespective of their personal beliefs or convictions.