I would like to welcome all new MA and PhD students to the Graduate School of International Culture and Communication Studies or GSICCS at Waseda University. Under normal circumstances, you would have attended the entrance ceremonies and orientation sessions on Waseda’s main campus. Unfortunately, this semester, virtually everything will be online, including lecture courses, seminars, and directed research. Although some in-person seminars will be taught on campus, many of you have to remain in your home countries due to the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease. My colleagues and I look forward to seeing you face-to-face when the covid-19 situation is brought under control.
We live in the midst of great transformations. Covid-19 and other unexpected events happening globally now are not temporary aberrations that will eventually disappear once things return to normal. Simply trying to make it through this trying time is probably not enough. I hope GSICCS can be a place where the faculty and students can work together to think through the impact of these unthinkable events with a view to imagining a better future of the world.
Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto, Dean
