Greetings from the Dean（The Division of Gender and Social Sciences）

03.04.2017 Update

Greetings from the Dean

The Division of Gender and Social Sciences was established after the 21st Century Center of Excellence (COE) Program of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) adopted Ochanomizu University’s Frontiers of Gender Studies Program (FY2003-7).

As globalization spurs changes in the world's nations, resources, and people, as well as a questioning of modern science’s universality, there is a strong need to reevaluate the significance of new knowledge and knowledge rooted in new lifestyles. I believe our division, with its goal of reinterpreting the social sciences from a gender-sensitive viewpoint, is capable of responding to the demands of modern society.

The graduates from this master’s course will be active in the research of their respective disciplines, but will also be the architects of a gender-equal society. They will be leading activists, both in the international initiatives of an increasingly global world, or the local initiatives rooted in regional societies.

Our hope is that this division will develop individuals able to switch back and forth between global and local viewpoints, and who are able to flexibly analyze a wide range of natural and societal phenomena through an interdisciplinary approach which responds to the challenges of the times, and is flexible enough to solve or mitigate real problems facing society.

KOTANI Masao
Greetings from the Dean
April 1, 2017