What are the central issues on the social agenda in nowadays Japan? How are these issues being addressed and discussed?   How influential is the public discourse in a mass communication and information technology oriented society, such as Japan? The current course aims to introduce and analyze burning social issues on Japan's written, broadcasted and electronic press, and explore the public discourse that surrounds it. This exploration enables distinctive perspective on contemporary Japanese society, its' prevalent norms, conflicts and multi-vocal trends.

Various social processes will be examined in inter-disciplinary tools, both in the macro and micro level. Students will write final paper based on data gathered through limited scale research, and analyzed using theoretical framework introduced in class.