Graduate School of Intercultural Communication

The goal of this graduate school is to promote education and research on the cultures that have developed among various groups of people who now must depend on one another in today’s globalized world. The “culture” in this context refers not to national cultures that are consolidated under nation-states, but instead refers to various types of cultures that are deconstructed from national cultures from both domestic and international perspectives. Furthermore, we define “international cultures” not as cultures in the sense of relationships between national cultures, but as ones in the sense of intercultural communications (i.e., understanding and interactions among different cultures). The purpose of this graduate school is to engage in comprehensive and interdisciplinary education and research using the various methods of the humanities and social sciences, with an emphasis on the relationship between information and culture. This graduate school has developed distinctive educational content that focuses on the following objectives: examining mainstream culture from the perspectives of peripheral cultures, understanding minority cultures from a broad perspective, reconsidering what is referred to as “Japanese culture” within the broader Asian context, giving practical and theoretical reconsideration to cultural exchange at various levels, and thinking about these issues while taking the possibility to make a database of cultures into consideration. It is through such educational pursuits that this graduate school is attempting to develop individuals who will conduct a more advanced level of research on international cultures in the sense of intercultural communication, and to cultivate individuals who, after completing such research, will contribute to society as advanced professionals in their fields.

“Exploring intercultural communication by studying the international and information-oriented aspects of culture”

The Graduate School of Intercultural Communication studies the diverse cultures that have developed among various groups of people who now must depend on one another in today’s globalized world, viewing those cultures not in the context of the multiple relationships of national cultures that have been consolidated as national-states but as international cultures that have been established through intercultural communication—that is, through mutual understanding and exchange between different cultural groups. Because today’s globalized world is based on intercultural communication, the new integrated discipline of intercultural communication studies is needed to understand the current state of the world and formulate an outlook for the future. The Graduate School of Intercultural Communication has three key areas of study through which it offers multifaceted education and research activities: intercultural correlation studies, multiculturalism studies, and multicultural information spaces studies. It also has a guidance structure in place to help students write their master’s theses and doctoral dissertations. Through its master’s and doctoral programs, this graduate school cultivates individuals who want to conduct more advanced research on the topic of intercultural communication and individuals who will contribute to society as advanced professionals in their fields after earning their degree.

1. Rather than limiting students to conventional regional studies, this program allows students to conduct multilayered research on problems and structures shared by various cultures.
2. Students will look at international society from a broad perspective, with a focus on culture, but also with a view toward political and economic perspectives.
3. Students will learn to identify the “internal others” and “internal foreign cultures” that exist in every culture.
4. Students will strive to relativize Japanese culture within the context of intercultural communications and to cultivate recognition of Japanese culture as a foreign culture.
5. This program cultivates the ability to understand and put into practice intercultural cultures that exist in information spaces.

International cultures are created through complex interactions involving the globalization and informatization of society. This program cultivates researchers and practitioners in the field of intercultural communication who are equipped with the tools for advanced cultural understanding and a broad perspective for looking at international cultures independently, comprehensively, and with an interdisciplinary approach. We are producing individuals capable of theorizing about and using intercultural communication no matter where in this world they go.