School of Culture, Media and SocietyWaseda University

School of Culture, Media and Society

From the Dean

YANAGISAWA Akira

The School of Culture, Media and Society (CMS) was established in 2007. Four years later in March 2011, the first batch of students graduated from CMS immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake, when the situation was still fraught with tension. More than 10 years have passed since. When CMS was established, we were very apprehensive about whether the unusual name “Bunka Koso” (the Japanese name for CMS, which translates as “cultural conception”) would be accepted or whether it would attract potential applicants to CMS. Fortunately, the Japanese name for CMS was gradually accepted as the years went by, and such fears dissipated. In tandem, there is something I have noticed about students’ characteristics and attitudes. It is interesting that there appears to be a subtle difference in the character between students at CMS and those at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS). I know it may be unreasonable to come to such a quick conclusion, but it seems to me that HSS students are more “serious” while CMS students are more “laid-back.”

Before CMS was launched, there used be two schools on the Toyama Campus, which were the School of Literature I (day school, changed its English name to School of Letters, Arts and Sciences I in 2002) and the School of Literature II (evening school, changed its English name to School of Letters, Arts and Sciences II in 2002). As the current HSS has generally taken over the specialized courses called “senshu” in Japanese (as they were called in those days) offered by the former School of Literature I, people often assume that CMS is the successor to the former School of Literature II, but that is not the case. It is true that CMS has inherited the laid-back atmosphere of the former School of Literature II, where most students were working professionals, but CMS’ curriculum structure significantly varies. When the former Schools of Literature I and II existed, faculty members were generally affiliated with any of the specialized courses of the former School of Literature I, and conducted classes for the former School of Literature II at the same time. Today, faculty members are assigned to either CMS or HSS, and they have greater responsibility for the education provided by their respective school.

Now, there is an interesting story to tell you about CMS. The School of Culture, Media and Society or CMS is known as “Bunka Koso Gakubu” in Japanese, which translates as the “School of Cultural Conception.” CMS is a totally different name from the Japanese name. More surprisingly, the English name for the school does not contain the word, “conception” at all! So, which one is the “correct” name, after all? To tell you the truth, I’m not sure either. If I might take a guess, I would say the two names represent the school’s distinctive features from different angles. If you take a closer look at the English name “Culture, Media and Society,” you will notice that it represents the educational and research fields offered in six different theoretical configurations paired with two theoretical configurations. In other words, the English name simply and clearly describes what CMS is all about. I would say that the Japanese name, “Bunka Koso,” on the other hand, does not particularly represent what the school is really about, but instead it describes the school’s desires and hopes that by studying at the school, students will be able to reflect on a variety of cultures, both past and present, and thus become creators of new cultures. In the end, I would say that both the English name and the Japanese name are correct after all.