The workshop offers a workshop-type class related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).The students applied their acquired knowledge about SDGs from the previous semester and organized their own SDGs workshops. During the class of Fall 2022, the students organized a series of three workshops with a daycare in Yokohama city. In the first session, students introduced their countries and held a mini workshop about environmental problems. In the second session, they created a play incorporating themes of environmental and gender issues. In the final session, a flea market was organized for children to bring in their "used toys." The goal of the flea market was to experience the main idea of Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

Yokohama was the primary gateway to modern Japan. In this seminar, we read and discussed themes related to Yokohama’s modern history from its emergence in the mid-nineteenth century in the context of the East Asian treaty port system, the end of extraterritoriality at the turn of the century, the rise of the “modan” in the interwar period, the destruction and reconstruction of the city in the 1920s and 1940s, the occupation period, and the rapid economic growth period from social ecological perspectives. Active class discussions were fueled by the questions students posted online before class. Students also completed group projects related to the themes discussed in class with comparative international perspectives. Like Yokohama, the class was enlivened by interactions between the diverse perspectives and interests of its participants.

In this course students gain an in-depth understanding of the form and function of different academic essay genres. Students learn to write effective thesis statements, introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions. They also learn to paraphrase, summarize, cite sources, and edit their peers’ and their own writing through various writing tasks. Once students acquire the basic skills, they will acquire advanced academic essay-writing skills from interpreting essay prompts to efficiently editing an essay. Students will learn to do research, take a position in an essay, evaluate outside sources, and write effective and cohesive paragraphs. Students will also learn to write with greater grammatical complexity and integrate source information into their own writing. In addition, students read academic and newspaper articles, not only to be exposed to different writing styles, but also to think critically about current global issues and to actively lead and engage in class discussions.

Everything that we do has an influence on the environment we live in. This programme offers a comprehensive exploration of the multi-disciplinary field of environmental studies. We will delve into complexity of our planets ecological, social and economic systems. This course serves as a gateway to your understanding of the pressing environmental challenges of our time such as overpopulation, urbanisation, climate change, resource scarcity and pollution. Through a multi-disciplinary approach, you will gain insights into how human activities impact the natural environment. We will critically examine crucial environmental issues and solutions through theoretical concepts, ethics, policy and societal implications. This course is an opportunity to engage with the critical issues of our time and explore your role as an informed and responsible global citizen.