Eric Hurlburt(M.A. & Ph.D in Global Studies Area)

I graduated from the GPGS Master's program in 2016 andtunity to pursue research that wasfrom the Doctorate program in 2020. I chose Sophia and theclosely tailored to my academic inter-GPGS for several reasons. There are of course several small

ests. I wrote my M.A. thesis on theperks: the campus is conveniently located in central Tokyo

American occupation of Japan and the(which allowed me easy access to resources such as thepropaganda produced during thatNational Diet Library), the facilities are up-to-date, excellent

period. I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation onlibrary, etc. But the reason I ﬁrst became interested in Sophia

American wartime propaganda in thewas my desire to have a western style curriculum while study-

20th century. Both topics are interdisci-

ing in Japan. Classes in the GPGS are organized and taught

plinary in nature and the GPGS notmuch like their counterparts in western universities and being

only provided several avenues to approach these topics but

from the United States, it is the type of learning environment I

also allowed me to beneﬁt from the varied expertise of theam used to. The class sizes are small which allows for muchprofessors who were of tremendous help in each step of writing

more interaction with the professors which greatly helps whenprocess. Additionally, the GPGS staﬀ were key in navigating thetackling more diﬃcult texts or concepts.

submission processes and university deadlines.

The program faculty was another reason that I chose theMy time with Sophia and the GPGS was one of both

GPGS program. The students work very closely with the profes-personal and academic growth. The program enabled me tosors who are lifesavers when it comes to completing yourdevelop relationships and networks that not only allowed me toresearch. In class they are very engaged in the subjects they

contribute my own small part to the world of academia but alsoteach and often bring a plethora of real-world experience tosucceed in life after Sophia. I would highly encourage anyone

their lectures. They all are very approachable and are more than

who wants to develop themselves as an academic in an envi-

willing to take the time to help students.

ronment that will allow them to thrive to consider Sophia andHowever, the main reason I chose the GPGS was the oppor-Yajun Hu

the GPGS program.

(MA in Global Studies Area)

I am Yajun Hu and completed my two-year MA degree inStudies (American University in Cairo) as an exchange student

Global Studies in March 2017. Returning back to Sophia in mythanks to the Global Studies Consortium Program. I also gained

memories, I do feel privileged to have studied in such a cosmo-

credits by participating in the training related to the UN system

politan environment where we examined global and transnation-and its global challenges at the United Nations University,

al issues through a multi-disciplinary approach. Along the way, ITokyo.

came to focus my academic interest on forced migration, spe-

After graduation, I was able to implement my academic

ciﬁcally related to Syrian refugees in Sweden (where I conduct-knowledge learnt in Sophia on the ground, speciﬁcally in Nairo-

ed my ﬁeld research), under the inspiring

bi ﬁrstly (International Peace Support Training Centre andguidance of my supervisor, Prof. JamesUNHCR Kenya) and subsequently in Ethiopia. Currently, I amFarrer.

deployed in the Tongo Refugee Camp located in Western Ethio-

I still vividly remember all my class-

pia near the border between Sudan and South Sudan. By

es when students from diﬀerent coun-upholding the motto of Sophia University - Men and Womentries could share and shape their own

for Others, with Others - I will continue to proceed along theviews freely and sometimes with lively

humanitarian path with the same perseverance and determina-

debates. I spent my third semester attion that had been shaped and strengthened by my two years in

the Center for Migration and Refugee

Global Studies at Sophia University.

The Graduate Program in Global Studies GPGS is partof Sophia University, a leading private university in Japan. The

sors from other graduate programs in the university are alsoaﬃliated with the GPGS.

GPGS, founded in April 2006 formerly the Graduate Program

Africa5in Comparative Culture from 1979 to 2005 , builds onJapan

9Russia

3Sophia s traditional strengths in area studies, particularly

Asia other than Japan

Asian studies, to study globalization. It emphasizes inquiry into

55

global issues through a curriculum focused on three areas:

Europe15

Global Studies, Japanese Studies and International Businessand Development Studies. All three areas oﬀer advanced
disciplinary training as well as interdisciplinary and transna tional perspectives. The approximately 30 faculty members

GPGS Studentsby Region

Latin America

10（Autumn 2020）in the GPGS have advanced degrees from leading universities
around the world and are actively engaged in research andpublication in their specializations. They represent many
diﬀerent disciplines, nationalities and cultural backgrounds,
ensuring a diverse range of perspectives. A number of profes-North America

14Oceania

5

Near and middle east6◎Global Studies◎Japanese Studies■ Curriculum◎ International Business andDevelopment Studies・INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL STUDIES 1 & 2■ Curriculum・INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE STUDIES 1 & 2・COMPARATIVE POLITICS・MATHEMATICAL TECHNIQUES IN BUSINESS AND・MODERN JAPANESE VISUAL CULTURE

・DEMOCRACY IN GLOBALIZATION・EMPIRE AND AFTERMATH - A GLOBAL HISTORY・CHINA-THE GLOBAL HISTORY OF A RISING POWER
・GLOBALIZATION AND POPULAR RELIGION・TOPICS IN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY・APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT・GLOBAL MIGRATION・GLOBAL HEALTH・QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS・HUMAN RIGHTS・QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS・GLOBAL CITIES・GLOBAL POLITICS・MEDIA AND POLITICS・NATURE, TECHNOSCIENCE AND SOCIETY・DIPLOMATIC HISTORY・THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL IMAGINATION・INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY・SOVEREIGNTY, NATIONHOOD, LIBERALISM・TOPICS IN GLOBAL STUDIES・FIELD PRACTICUM: RIVERS■ Research Interests of GPGS Faculty Members
Tadashi Anno, Professor /Ph.D. University of California, Berkely

Theories of international relations and comparativepolitics, globalization and the future of thenation-state, nationalism, Soviet and Post-Soviet politics

Christian Hess, Associate Professor /Ph.D. University of California, San Diego

Modern Chinese history, urban history, Japaneseimperialism and colonialism in China, the regional historyof Northeast China, globalization and Chinese cities

Takeshi Ito, Professor /Ph.D. Yale University

about, and engage with, this interconnected yet still diverse and unequal

Agrarian and environmental politics, political
economy of development, power, domination andresistance, Southeast Asia

world. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the GPGS has thrived.
We have students from every continent pursuing advanced studies andTatsuo Murakami, Associate Professor /University of California, Santa Barbara

research on a fantastic array of topics in business, social studies and theTheories of religion (modernity, colonialism,materiality), African Pentecostalism

humanities. As the Director of the program, I hope to maintain our current

Koichi Nakano, Professor /Ph.D. Princeton University

strengths and also facilitate new initiatives from students and faculty.

Japanese politics, comparative politics, New Right
transformation, public protest and civic activism,
party politics and policy change, bureaucracy andadministrative reform.

We are pursuing opportunities for more student internships. We aredeepening our collaborations with universities around the world, including
double degree programs, such as the one we have with SOAS in London.

Yuka Sugawara, Associate Professor /Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin

We are also promoting avenues for students to collaborate more withSocial demography, health and aging, socio-economic transition from communication in East Central
Europe and the former Soviet Union

other students in allied graduate programs within Sophia University,
including aninter-seminarproject and joint workshops. Finally,David Wank, Professor /Ph.D. Harvard University

we aim to enhance research opportunities for students throughcollaborative research projects, research assistantships, and post-doctoral
positions. We look forward to a ﬂourishing post-pandemic era of research,education and lively interactions in and outside the classroom.

Professor James Farrer
Director of Graduate Program inGlobal Studies

・ASIAN COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT
・INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
・INTERNATIONAL MARKETING・MANAGING MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS・CORPORATE FINANCE
・DEVELOPMENT THEORY AND POLICY・INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS
・SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT・ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS AND POLICY・TOPICS IN BUSINESS AND DEVELOPMENT 1 & 2■ Research Interests ofGPGS Faculty Members

Akihito Asano, Associate Professor /Ph.D. Australian National University
Development economics

Peter De Maeyer, Associate Professor /Ph.D. Columbia University

Marketing, pricing, quality and satisfaction, advertising

・CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE LITERATURE
・COMPARATIVE LITERATURE 1 & 2・PRE-MODERN JAPANESE LITERATURE 1 & 2・READING IN JAPANESE SOURCES・RELIGION AND JAPANESE SOCIETY・JAPANESE HISTORY・MODERN JAPANESE HISTORY・JAPANESE ETHNOGRAPHY・POPULAR CULTURE・URBAN SPACE STUDIES・TOPICS IN CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE BUDDHISM
・SOCIAL ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN・JAPANESE LANGUAGE COURSE A & B■ Research Interests of

GPGS Faculty Members

Edward Drott, Associate Professor /Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania

History of Japanese religion, religion and the body

Bettina Gramlich-Oka, Professor /Ph.D. Tübingen Universität

Modern and contemporary art, history and visualculture, aesthetic theory and criticism

Urban sociology, foodways and cuisine, sexuality,nightlife, skilled migration (expatriates)

Program in Global Studies (GPGS) was founded to help students learn

MANAGEMENT・FINANCIAL ACCOUNTINGSTUDIES・INTERPRETATIONS OF MODERNITY 1 & 2Parissa Haghirian, Professor /Ph.D. Vienna University of Economicsand Business Administration

James Farrer, Professor /Ph.D. University of Chicago

paradoxical age of interconnectedness and distancing. The Graduate

・INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION SYSTEM AND

・CRITICAL THEORY IN MEDIA AND CULTURAL

Makiko Deguchi, Professor /Ph.D. Boston CollegeSocial and cultural anthropology of East Asia regionof transnational cooperation, trade and transportation can be. We live inDEVELOPMENT・MODERN JAPANESE ART HISTORY

early modern economic thought

Sandra Fahy, Associate Professor /Ph.D. School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London

humanity has become and yet how fragile many of the established links

・CORPORATE STRATEGY AND ORGANIZATIONAL・JAPANESE ART HISTORY

Gabriel Fuentes Cordoba, Assistant Professor /Ph.D. Tohoku University

Cultural psychology, psychology of social oppression,area studies

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how globally connected

・BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC STATISTIC

Tina Burrett, Associate Professor /Ph.D. Cambridge University

Governance, leadership, democratization, politicalaccountability, the role of the media in politicsMessage from the Director

ECONOMICS■ Curriculum

Economic sociology, political sociology, socialnetworks, institutional change, communities andtransnational links, ethnography, China

Takehiro Watanabe, Associate Professor /Ph.D. Columbia University

Cultural and social anthropology, modernity, criticaltheory, cultural history of mining, amateur poetry,environmentalism, underground economies

Development economics

Japanese market entry, knowledge transfer,intercultural communication, headquarter-subsidiary
relations in Japanese multinational corporations,Japanese consumer behavior

Takuya Hasebe, Associate Professor /Ph.D. City University of New York

Econometrics, Labor Economics, Health Economics,
Applied Microeconomics

Yacob Khojasteh, Professor /Ph.D. University of Tsukuba

Operation management, supply chain management,
business and management

Naoto Isaka, Professor /Ph.D. Hitotsubashi University

Financial markets, Corporate ﬁnanceMichio Hayashi, Professor /Ph.D. Columbia University

Shion Kono, Associate Professor /Ph.D. Princeton University

Comparative Literature, Modern Japanese Literature

Noriko Murai, Associate Professor /Ph.D. Harvard University

Modern art history, visual culture, gender studies

Kiyokazu Okita, Associate Professor /M. St., Ph.D. University of Oxford
Literature, Philosophy and ReligionSven Saaler, Professor /Ph.D. University of BonnJapanese political history, history of Japanese foreign
relations, politics of memory, history of Pan-Asianism

David Slater, Professor /Ph.D. University of Chicago

Michiru Sakane, Associate Professor /Ph.D. Duke University, Durham
Macroeconomics, international ﬁnance

Cultural anthropology, education, social class,semiotics, urban studies and disaster studies;
ethnography and oral narrative

Junko Uenishi, Associate Professor /M.S., M.B.A., Northeastern University

Matthew Strecher, Professor /Ph.D. University of Washington

Financial accounting, international accounting,comparative accounting systems

Modern and contemporary Japanese literature,
literary journalism, genre studies, mythology, globalliterature, and postmodernism

Mathew Thompson, Associate Professor /Ph.D. Columbia University

Medieval and early modern Japanese literature,
particularly the otogizoshi, ko-joruri, and gunkimono
genresAngela Yiu, Professor /Ph.D. Yale University

Modern Japanese literature, literature and Tokyo,
Taisho utopianism, modernism, postwar literature, andurban space