Project Seminar II （E)

Project Seminar II （E)

専門教育科目

Project Seminar II, Critical Media Literacy: Understanding Society Through Media & Social Movements

国際商経学部

学年指定なし

KCCBG1MCA3

2単位

演習 (Seminar)

2025年度前期

(Spring semester)

田中 キャサリン マリー

School of Economics and Management
GBC

英語

目標1／目標2／目標3／目標10／目標16

B308
Office Hours by appointment 

kathryn.tanaka@em.u-hyogo.ac.jp

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In an age of globalization and overwhelming online information, media literacy across cultures is an increasingly important tool for all students to have. This course aims to give students academic communication, media literacy, critical analysis skills through the study of important social issues and how they relate to culture in Japan today. It introduces students to the historical contexts and social implications behind contemporary social issues and their media representation in Japan, and encourages students to use media critically to do their own research into topics that are critical but also may be controversial, or presented in different ways in different countries. Using media from Japan and around the world, we think about the implications of global human rights problems in both Japan and the rest of the world. We will explore a wide variety of media and perspectives, ranging from new media, traditional media, and pop culture. Of particular concern will be the way social justice and issues in contemporary Japanese society relate to global human rights issues and how media can impact how these issues are perceived. This class is designed to have students use their English language skills to conduct research and design a project around social issues and how to solve them. Students will learn debate, discussion, and opinion sharing skills before they conduct research in Japanese and English to share an important social issue and its solutions with their classmates. There will be reading outside of class, and the course is heavily discussion based. For their final project, students will be expected to design and implement a project that offers a solution to a social issue we debated in class.

Social Issues, Human Rights, Media Analysis, Media Literacy, Critical Thinking 

1. Class Introduction, Self Introductions, Brainstorming, and Setting the Schedule
2.  Media Literacy in a Globalized Era
3. Media Bias, Perspective, and the role of culture in shaping information
4. Key questions to ask when analyzing media
5. Censorship and Freedom of Speech
6. Human Rights in Digital Spaces
7. Media's changing role in social justice movements
8. Social Justice and Media Representation: How media portrays marginalized groups in Japan and around the world
9. Comparative Examinations of Global social justice movements: Gender and LGBTQIA+
10.  Comparative Examinations of Global social justice movements: Racial and Ethnic Justice Movements
11. Comparative Examinations of Global social justice movements: Labor and Economic Movements
12. Comparative Examinations of Global social justice movements: Environmental Justice Movements
13. Comparative Examinations of Global social justice movements: Antiwar and Peace movements
14. Comparative Examinations of Global social justice movements: Youth and Student Movements
15. Final presentations and wrap up

Materials will be provided by the instructor. 

Students should have a dictionary to use in class. 

Students will spend between two and three hours outside of class each week reviewing the material and preparing for class, 

Students will actively help design the contents, research and plan their weekly opinion presentations, and plan a final presentation-based project 

Attendance and contributions to class discussion, class reflections 30%
Homework 20%
Leading a class debate 25%
Final presentation project 20%


Unexcused absence from more than five classes, repeated unexcused absences, or failure to complete the final will result in an automatic failure of the class.

Assignments will be given in class and posted online. 

Research and discussion