FLA professors participate in a wide variety of research projects in their areas of expertise and publish widely in international research journals.
For a full list of publications, search for Faculty names in the University Researcher Database.
Journal Publications
Monumenta Nipponica
Monumenta Nipponica (MN), a biannual journal on Japanese culture and society, was founded in 1938, making it one of the oldest English-language academic journals in the field of Asian studies. Published by Sophia, MN provides a fully refereed platform for Japan scholars from around the world to present research. It carries original scholarship and translations in the fields of history, literature, art history, religion, philosophy, and anthropology. MN is edited by members of the FLA.
AGLOS: Journal of Area-Based Global Studies
AGLOS Journal of Area-Based Global Studies is a refereed online journal published by the Sophia University Graduate School of Global Studies (GSGS)The journal publishes submissions, in English or Japanese, from current graduate students and alumni of the GSGS in a range of disciplines and from the diverse intellectual perspectives embodied in the three graduate programs: Global Studies, Area Studies and International Relations. It aims to encourage rigorous research activities and serve as a forum for intellectual exchange among students and scholars. Many GSGS professors are also members of the FLA.
Project
Reacting to the Past
Contributions to educational innovation have been made by bringing the “Reacting to the Past” (RTTP) pedagogy to higher education in Japan. RTTP is an innovative approach to Liberal Arts Education consisting of interactive classroom activities that promote student engagement in big ideas and improve critical thinking skills. In SophiaUniversity’s Liberal Arts program, since 2012 every semester approximately 100 students–every degree student in the faculty–are learning important, lifelong skills by experiencing RTTP in the core program’s required public speaking course. RTTP-style materials have also been developed and tested that explore important moments in Japanese history (e.g. the arrival of Commodore Perry and the Akō incident) for use in the FLA core, history, and literature programs. This research project includes a plan to publish a series of RTTP textbooks and manuals that will make the RTTP method widely available for use in classes relating to Japanese history or critical thinking not only at Sophia but other Japanese and Western universities as well.
Research Institutes
Institute of Comparative Culture
The Institute of Comparative Culture (ICC), established in 1981, is a research organization for developing and promoting interdisciplinary studies in social sciences and humanities from a comparative perspective. The Institute promotes and assists the research activities of ICC members, hosts guest speakers, holds conferences and workshops, and supports the research activities of visiting researchers. ICC members’ areas of specialization include business, economics, history, literature, art history, political science, sociology and anthropology, focusing strongly on Asia, especially Japan. Because the ICC supports research activities in English, its membership is based largely in the FLA.
