1. Animal Cognition by Professor Thomas Icard
Wednesday, 3rd (13:10-14:40) AND 4th (14:55-16:25)
The study of non-human thought and cognition raises distinctive methodological and philosophicalchallenges, often putting pressure on orthodox views in cognitive science. What are animal minds
like, and how do they compare to our own? What exactly can we learn about these questions fromcontrolled experiments? Does failure at a task imply absence of an ability or trait? What othermethods do we have for understanding animal cognition? How might what we learn about otheranimals shed light on our own mental processes?
This course will address these and other many issues through a combination of readings,
discussions, and visits with researchers who conduct such research. Topically, we will focus
attention on learning and memory, causal thought and reasoning, planning, language andcommunication, social cognition, metacognition, consciousness, and moral psychology.
Prof. Thomas Icard is Professor of Philosophy and (by courtesy) of Computer Science at Stanford
University. He earned his Ph.D. in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University and Master of Science
degree in Mathematical Logic from the University of Amsterdam.

2. Queer Culture and Life in Japanby Professor Yuka Kanno
Thursday, 3rd (13:10-14:40) & 4th (14:55-16:25)“Queer,” writes Eve Sedgwick, “refers to the open mesh of possibilities, gaps, overlaps,
dissonances and resonances, lapses and excesses of meaning when the constituent elementsof anyone’s gender, of anyone’s sexuality aren’t made (or can’t be made) to signify
monolithically.” Or according to David Halperin, queer “describes a horizon of possibility
whose precise extent and heterogeneous scope cannot in principle be delimited in advance."
Yet, queer is not a term meant only to fantasize a utopian “somewhere.” It has been used toquestion and challenge homophobia, sexism and racism, under which run the ideas of“heteronormativity.” Thus, by paying particular attention to the politically critical potential of“queer,” this course explores queer lives and cultural practices in Japan through film,literature, theater, art, and personal testimonies. We will look at queer culture as a “livedexperience” and queer life as a “cultural experience” at the same time. What does it mean tobe queer in Japan? How does the term “queer” signify differently from a US context? What isthe critical potential of “queer” and under what conditions can it become potential? And whatis the possible danger or risk of mobilizing the term/concept of queer? We will tackle thesequestions by closely analyzing a wide range of texts and events. This class is designed forstudents interested in cultural studies, feminism, queer studies, gender and sexuality studies,LGBT activism and community in Japan.
Prof. Kanno gained her Ph.D. in Visual Studies with an emphasis in Feminist Studies from theDepartment of Women’s Studies, University of California, Irvine. She is Professor in theGraduate School of Global Studies at Doshisha University and a founding member of Feminist,
Gender, and Sexuality Studies (FGSS) Research Center, Doshisha University. Her researchinterests include queer theory and criticism, gender and sexuality studies, visual culture,feminist film studies and Japanese cinema. Her current projects focus on queer film festivals
and transnational queer girls’ cinema and culture. The author of numerous publications onqueer and film theory, Prof. Kanno has also organized several queer themed-film screenings inJapan. She has taught in the Stanford Program in Kyoto since 2017.