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UESUGI, Yuji
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| First Year Seminar (FYS) is designed to enrich first year students’ learning experience in the SILS, Waseda University. In the FYS, I aim to create an environment in which students can interact with each other collaboratively using my field of study such as “peace” and “conflict” as subjects for discussion.
I urge students to critically examine what I teach or argue as my knowledge and perspective can only be one of many possible views (critical thinking). At the same time, I encourage students to pay attention to opinions and questions raised by others (multifaceted thinking). Being able to meet with others who have different views and ways of thinking would enlighten our worldview. Rather than trying to refute others who have different positions, I ask students to actively listen to and communicate with them as such attitude should widen our perspectives and deepen our knowledge (emphasis on dialogue). I try my best to inspire students to learn how to engage in dialogue and quest for knowledge. At the end of each semester, I ask students to submit their declaration for a peacebuilder in lieu of the final exam, as I strongly believe that “peace” should not only be thought but also be pursued proactively. |
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― Continue thinking about how to bring the world one step closer to peace ―
First Year Seminar A is a seminar for first-year students with a small group of about 20 students, and is the only class in SILS that is conducted in Japanese, so the atmosphere is similar to that of a high school homeroom. In this class, once a week, people who are interested in peace and conflict resolution gather to discuss and continue thinking about how to bring the world one step closer to peace.
Of all the classes at SILS, FYS is my favorite. This is because it is very close to the people. Among them, Prof. Uesugi’s class has three characteristics. The first is that students are close to each other. The second is the closeness to the teacher. And the third is the close proximity to the guests. I will introduce these in turn.
I feel that students are especially close to each other in Prof. Uesugi’s classes, because at FYS, students are not lectured by the professor, but rather they discuss issues independently with each other. Each week, students exchange opinions with each other on topics such as “what is the definition of conflict” and “how conflicts can be resolved. What was particularly impressive to me was that when we discussed “Is there justifiable violence?” we all came to a single answer, not only expressing our own opinions, but also incorporating the opinions of others. It is a good thing about FYS that we can talk seriously with our peers. Prof. Uesugi is very good at creating an environment where we can talk honestly in this way. He always gives a presentation on “what happened last week” one by one before class starts, and on days when the weather is nice, he takes the class out to the Okuma Garden, so we naturally get to know each other better.
In addition, no other classes can compare to FYS in terms of proximity to the teacher. While there are often more than 50 students in a large classroom in regular lectures and other classes, FYS has only 20 students at the maximum. This makes it easy to talk to the professor and ask questions. Furthermore, after class, students submit their reflections on the class using an application called SLACK, and Prof. Uesugi comments on each student, so it is nice to be connected with the professor outside of class as well.
Finally, at Prof. Uesugi’s FYS, students are also able to meet many guests who are connected with the teacher. In fact, people who are active in the real world, such as Mr. Ibun Hirahara, a social entrepreneur, and Mr. Shinjiro Murata, Executive Director of Medecins Sans Frontieres Japan, have visited our class. It was a great experience for me to be able to discuss things in the classroom with people I would normally only hear about in lectures.
Next year, I will study abroad in London to study international relations and security. The purpose of these studies should also be to bring peace to nations and the world. With what I learned in this class, I would like to continue to think about peace.
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This article is written by…
KURODA, Kotai
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*This article is current as of March 2023.
*This course may not be offered every semester.
