Courses

Elementary Japanese Language and Culture (3 credits)

This course help students to build a strong foundation in the Japanese language, aiming for the ultimate goal of being a true bridge person between Japan and their home countries. In order to be such a bridge person, the students should be able to use the Japanese language as their tool, being fluent in reading and writing as well. All four skills speaking, listening, writing, and reading will be covered.

Other Courses

See syllabi > Undergraduate > English Courses > Check "Spring" 

Primary Courses 

SGS203E Global Studies III: Japanese Arts and Aesthetics (3 credits)

This class will study Japanese culture through the artistic expression of the Japanese people, and will address the question of what is characteristic of the Japanese people and Japanese culture. Since the early modern period, Japanese people have admired Western culture and have been influenced by it in every field, but it is said that Japanese art is the only one that has influenced the Western world. However, the Japanese themselves are not fully aware of the value of Japanese artistic expression. For example, special exhibitions of Western art such as Van Gogh and Picasso are overwhelmingly more popular than those of the Tokyo National Museum, which houses a complete collection of Japanese art from ancient to modern times. In this class, we hope to learn about Japanese art that can be seen at the Tokyo National Museum and to actually go and see it. In particular, we will focus on Jomon earthenware and works of Ukiyoe and Rimpa school from the Edo period to appreciate Japanese art. We will also view some of Hayao Miyazaki's animation works, which have received worldwide acclaim as contemporary expressions of Japanese art. Using Professor Susan Napier's “The Miyazaki World: The Darkness and Light of Hayao Miyazaki,” known in the United States as the Ghibli Queen, as a textbook, the course will consider Ghibli animation as a contemporary Japanese art form while reading critiques of Miyazaki's works from a Westerner's perspective.

SGS307E Global Studies VII: Religion and Society in Japan (3 credits)

In this course, we will explore and analyze how religions functions as social systems in contemporary Japan. While Japan is often seen as one of the least religious countries in the world, we will investigate how religion continues to play a significant role in both private and public aspects of Japanese life. We will examine the intersections of various themes, such as Shinto and politics, Buddhism and views of life and death, new religious movements and their social engagement, and the Aum Affair and violence. Throughout the course, we will engage with readings, lectures, student presentations, weekly discussions, and field trips. These activities will guide us in gaining a deeper understanding of the relationship between religion and society in Japan, and will help us familiarize ourselves with the religious landscapes of contemporary Japanese society. Additionally, we will develop critical skills for reflecting on our own views of religion. We will also have the opportunity to visit local religious sites.

SGS316E Global Studies ⅩⅥ : Japanese Culture and Society (3 credits)

This course introduces Japanese culture and society through studying forms, patterns, and expressions of life in Japan today. Students will get a broad overview of Japanese economic life, family and community life, Japanese religions and worldviews, and forms of education. While the focus will be on contemporary Japan, students will also learn about historical forms and expressions of Japanese culture that have led up to the present day. Students will learn through classroom lectures, readings, and discussions, of course, but also through interviewing local Japanese people about their own understanding and experiences in various areas of life, and through reflecting together on what they have seen and learned during their experiences in daily life. Throughout the course, students will have many opportunities to reflect on what it means to live as a Christian in Japan today, whether as a Japanese citizen or as an expatriate. The course's broader aims are for students to learn how to become critically minded and compassionate interpreters of their own and other cultures to live and act in ways that lead to the flourishing of life both locally and globally.

LJA110E-210E Elementary – Intermediate Japanese Language and Culture (4 credits)

The elementary and intermediate courses help students to build a strong foundation in the Japanese language, aiming for the ultimate goal of being a true bridge person between Japan and their home countries. In order to be such a bridge person, the students should be able to use the Japanese language as their tool, being fluent in reading and writing as well. All four skills speaking, listening, writing, and reading will be covered.
Students will be assigned to the course below that best suits their level:
LJA110E Elementary Japanese Language and Culture I
LJA210E Intermediate Japanese Language and Culture I

Elective Courses

Fall 2026 *Elective courses vary from 1 to 2 credits.

RGB240E Great Books IV: Social Sciences

In this course, students engage with classic works in the social sciences that have played a foundational role in shaping modern understandings of society, economy, and political life. As part of the Great Books curriculum, the course focuses on selected seminal texts in fields such as sociology, political theory, economics, and social philosophy, organized around a coherent theme for each offering.

Through a Socratic approach that emphasizes close reading, questioning, and dialogue, professors and students explore enduring questions concerning social order, power, labor, institutions, and human action. These classical works are treated not merely as historical artifacts, but as intellectually demanding texts that continue to offer critical frameworks for interpreting contemporary social realities.

Course materials are provided in both English and Japanese to support students from diverse academic and linguistic backgrounds. While the primary language of instruction is English, extensive support is available for non-native speakers to encourage active participation and the development of academic communication skills.

This course is designed for students interested in sociology, political science, economics, philosophy, and related disciplines who wish to deepen their theoretical foundations through engagement with classical texts. By pursuing inquiry collaboratively, professors and students cultivate critical thinking, interpretive rigor, and a disciplined approach to complex social questions.

CCW120E Christ and the World II: Issues Facing the Church through Time

This course introduces students to Christ’s relevance in their contemporary context by exploring the church’s call to perceptive biblical engagement in the most pressing conundrums and fractures besetting all corners of culture, local and global. From the impact of religious extremism, to the rise of naturalistic atheism, to the popularity of pluralism, the church’s concept of God continues to require reevaluation and articulation. Simultaneously, the church grapples with embodying a biblical concept of community that dignifies all image-bearers. For instance, presently salient—particularly for Japan—is navigating issues of gender and sexuality. The church faces fresh challenges in its relation to power as structures consolidating influence now incorporate complex international and economic dynamics. As technological advancement ushers in an unprecedented information age and exposes environmental crises, the church encounters a new set of hermeneutical hurdles, considering if and how the Bible speaks to such matters. With issues multiplying and modulating at a dizzying pace, this course seeks to invigorate students’ pursuit of a Christian liberal arts education as an invaluable asset for coming to think and relate in redemptive kingdom-oriented ways that bear the life-renewing presence of Christ into His world today.

SGS101E Global Studies I: Intercultural Communication

The need to acquire the knowledge and skills in intercultural communication is growing in the globalized word. Developing the ability and competence in cross-cultural communication is not simply relevant but crucial today. This course aims to introduce the basic knowledge and skills necessary for developing healthy intercultural relationships. To archive this goal, this course will explore the fundamental concepts and variables in cross-cultural communication. In addition, students will learn cultural patterns that help students to objectify both their own and other cultural ways of communication in order to foster healthy intercultural relationships. The cultivation of positive attitudes towards different cultures is essential. The necessary components and basic skills for effective intercultural communication will be discussed. In this course, a special emphasis will be given to the intercultural communication in the Japanese context. This specific emphasis is intentional and it aims at helping students for their cultural adjustment in the Japanese culture and society.

SCH450E Christian History and Tradition V: Systematic Theology

The course introduces basic concepts about systematic theology. There is much common ground on these topics with the Lutheran, Reformed/Calvinist, and Wesleyan/Arminian theological traditions that inform much of modern evangelicalism. Yet evangelicals even within these traditions debate many issues. The course explores the coherence and interrelation of doctrinal topics, their roots in biblical sources, and their expression and development within the wider church. The course is focused specifically on doctrine and not on practice or ethics, but with the assumption that the knowledge of God and oneself is integral to Christian living.

SBS210E Biblical Studies I: Old Testament Survey

The Old Testament is foundational for understanding many key themes in the Bible, including creation, sin, faith, law, wisdom, and prayer. But a good understanding of the contexts of the Old Testament is first necessary for a greater understanding of these themes.
This course aims to equip students with foundational instruments necessary for further study of the Old Testament. By the end of the course, students are expected to have basic knowledge on the various genres of the Old Testament, chronology of the Old Testament, the geography of Israel, and scholarly approaches for reading the Old Testament. In apporaching these themes, students will interact with some scholarly frameworks which have attempted to explain various features of the Old Testament.
Without sacrificing depth of understanding, this course also seeks to be practical. Students will produce a small document for their own reference, with all of the basic data they need for further exploration of the Old Testament. This document will be produced throughout the course of the semester.

LJA350E Japanese Extensive Reading and Listening (Fall)

This course aims to help students acquire and effectively use Japanese through Extensive Reading and Listening, which we call Tadoku. A large amount of Japanese input through Tadoku helps students to improve their Japanese language acquisition. By continuing Tadoku, students’ motivation to speak and write will steadily increase, and they are encouraged to be lifelong learners and users of the Japanese language. The extensive reading room has a wide variety of reading materials. Students will choose books that match their level and interests, and immerse themselves in Japanese. In order for students to be successful at Tadoku, they should keep the following four rules: (1) Start with simple and easy materials. (2) Read without using a dictionary. (3) Skip unknown words. (4) When stuck, or when something becomes uninteresting, find something else. Students will be required to keep a Tadoku log, write brief reflections about books they read, and share their Tadoku experience with other students.

<Prerequisites and Other Notes> Ability to read Hiragana (+Katakana) is the minimum requirement. Students must be willing to spend a large amount of time reading, listening, and enjoying a variety of materials for Japanese input throughout the term.

Elective Courses for Those Who Stay One Year

Winter 2026 *Elective courses vary from 1 to 2 credits.

LJA120E Elementary Japanese Language and Culture 2 (4 credits)

A continuation of JPN 101E. Following the fall term, this course will continue to provide a basic foundation in the Japanese language. All four skills -- listening, speaking, reading, and writing -- will be covered. Always keep in mind your ultimate goal, i.e., to be a bridge person between Japan and your home country. Again, in order to be such a bridge person, you should be fluent in reading and writing as well. We will continue to build on kanji and by the end of the term, about 100 kanji will be covered. From this term on, an oral exam will be introduced. The students will continue to be encouraged to use their learning outside of the class, taking advantage of the Japanese-speaking environment. Detailed schedule will be provided in class. 

LJA220E Intermediate Japanese Language and Culture 2 (4 credits)

Following the previous semester, this course will continue to enhance the students' ability in the Japanese language, as they aim for the ultimate goal of being bridge people between Japan and their home countries. During this semester, more colloquial expressions and casual styles will be introduced. The students will also learn how to respond appropriately so that the conversation will flow more smoothly. The process from input, in the form of audio recordings, to oral output is taken into consideration, so that ability in oral output can be increased. Grammar practice is designed so that, through "Notice and Discover" activities that take place within real communication, grammar can be learned within a meaningful context. The students continue to be encouraged to be independent learners, especially as they work on their reading and writing assignments. By the end of this semester, the students are expected to have a good awareness of the culturally-appropriate language use and also to demonstrate such ability in a variety of real-life contexts. A detailed schedule will be provided in class.

CCW110E Christ and the World I: Issues Facing the Church Today

This course guides students in understanding some challenges that the church must confront today, focusing primarily in a Japanese context, related to issues that are relevant around the world. In weekly readings and class sessions, students will consider a range of topics, such as Christian responses to: social justice issues such as poverty, gender discrimination, and other inequalities; misconduct, abuse, and other toxic beliefs and practices in religious communities, including special problems faced by people raised in religious families (shūkyō nisei); the aging of Japanese society; ethnocentrism and xenophobia; the impact of AI on religious beliefs and practices; environmental destruction and stewardship. While considering these and other issues, students will reflect on questions among people of faith about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); interfaith dialogue and cooperation; religion and politics; religious misconduct and abuse; and gender roles. While fostering critical thinking and respectful dialogue, the course aims to invigorate students' pursuit of a Christian liberal arts education in order to equip themselves with the ability to identify, analyze, and communicate the nature and scope of issues facing the church today.

SBS451E Biblical Studies V: Selected Biblical Books (Luke-Acts)

This course provides an introduction to the Lukan Corpus, comprising the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Students will explore these foundational New Testament texts within their historical and literary contexts, examining how their unique structure and genre shape their message. The primary goal is for students to deepen their interest in and familiarity with the Lukan writings, gaining the tools necessary to interpret these texts thoughtfully.

LJA360E Japanese Extensive Reading and Listening (Winter)

This course aims to help students acquire and effectively use Japanese through Extensive Reading and Listening, which we call Tadoku. A large amount of Japanese input through Tadoku helps students to improve their Japanese language acquisition. By continuing Tadoku, students’ motivation to speak and write will steadily increase, and they are encouraged to be lifelong learners and users of the Japanese language. The extensive reading room has a wide variety of reading materials. Students will choose books that match their level and interests, and immerse themselves in Japanese. In order for students to be successful at Tadoku, they should keep the following four rules: (1) Start with simple and easy materials. (2) Read without using a dictionary. (3) Skip unknown words. (4) When stuck, or when something becomes uninteresting, find something else. Students will be required to keep a Tadoku log, write brief reflections about books they read, and share their Tadoku experience with other students.

SCH310E Christian History and Tradition I: Ancient and Medieval Church History

This course is designed to introduce the student to the history of Christianity from antiquity to the late Middle Ages. Its primary aim is to acquaint the student with the historical and theological developments of key figures, movements, and doctrines of the period. Students will learn about major problems faced by the church during this time, such as Gnosticism and Arianism, and influential people, such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. Another goal is the development of a critical historical perspective on the Christian church and its applications to the practicalities of the modern Christian church and the Christian life. The course will proceed chronologically with a focus on eastern and western Christianity, but also with recognition of the global spread of Christianity.

RGB120E Great Books II: Japanese Literature

Expanding students' exposure to seminal literary works across time, space, and culture, this course focuses specifically on important works of Japanese literature. Literature nurtures your inner self by exposing yourself to the human reality. Experiences in the literary world broaden your worldview, which would help you to grow in the understanding of other human beings and relate to them in the real world. Being informed of Japanese mentality through pivotal modern/contemporary works would help us believers to deepen our understanding of Japanese people outside of a Christian community. Each novel in our selection offers unique and important insights into Japanese culture with its core values, which have been intricately cultivated under internal and external influences throughout the history. Students may read the selections in English, Japanese, or any other available translation, and aim to learn from each other, as we share and discuss each other’s findings in class. The titles for Winter 2026 will be announced before the winter trimester at the latest.

RGB370E Great Books VII: Christian Classics

Expanding students’ exposure to seminal literary works across time, space, and culture, this course focuses specifically on the major contributions to orthodox Christian theology made by figures such as Origen, Augustine, Luther, and Kierkegaard. The impact of these commentaries, treatises, letters, sermons, etc., has continued to ripple down through the ages, shaping the way the church understands the nature of its confession of faith and relation to the world. The instructor will vary the readings for each offering of this course. Students can anticipate rigorous engagement with primary source material through close reading of assigned texts and insightful question formulation. This course adopts a Socratic-style structure for in-class discussion, so all students should be prepared for thoughtful interaction with their peers and instructor regarding the material’s original impact and contemporary relevance.

SGS310E Global Studies X: Leadership, Management, and Organizational Culture in Japan

This course is designed to explore the intersection of leadership, management, and organizational culture within the context of Japan's interaction with Western values. Over ten weeks, students will begin a journey to explore the sociological aspects within the realm of Japanese organizational life and culture, examining how individuals and groups interact within organizations, the impact of individual choices and organizational structures, and how organizational culture shapes and is shaped by individual values and practices.

The course will explore the impact of globalization on Japanese organizations, focusing on how it fosters change, and will discuss the challenges and opportunities arising from multicultural societies. Through a mix of lectures, case studies, group discussions, and guest speaker insights, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of organizational management, informed by both theory and practice.

Special emphasis will be placed on the influence of Western management theories, particularly those of Peter Drucker, on Japanese organizational practices. Students will investigate the formation of organizational culture and identity, the organizational and social structure of modern Japan, and emerging trends in organizational management in the 21st century. The course also explores the unique development of private and public relationships in Japan and the significant role that leaders—regardless of their position and background—play within organizations.

By the end of this course, students will not only have a deeper understanding of the sociological aspects of organizational life in Japan but also be equipped with the insights and strategies needed to navigate and lead effectively in a culturally diverse environment. This course offers valuable perspectives for those looking to serve as responsible members and leaders in organizational life, both within Japan and in a global context.

SGS414E Global Studies XIV: TESOL

This is a practical course for those interested in teaching English in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) setting. Students taking the course will self-study basic theories and skills through understanding the textbook and online resources given as assignments. In class participants discuss findings and questions from different perspectives, with insights from one’s own learner experience in language courses. Toward the end of the course the participants will lead a 15-minute language activity in the real classroom at TCU so that the “mini-teachers” will learn from actual teaching. Learning how to teach with textbooks, the participants will study learner materials available in Japan, set a context, then choose a topic to make a mock teaching plan. Through taking the course the students will come to grasp what EFL learners’ needs and motivations are, yet also how varied individual classrooms are.