ユニット
「生命・環境」+「科学技術・社会」

このプロジェクトは、ヒューマニズムを基調とする共生社会の実現のために、基礎研究や応用研究、高度な技術開発がどのように寄与しうるのか、課題は何かについて考えていくことを目的とする。具体的な問題そのものに接近するため、具体的なテーマを絞った授業や現場との連携を重視した授業を展開するとともに、様々な分野の最先端の研究に参加させることにより、参加学生が、最先端科学・技術の知識と現場感覚の双方を持ち、具体的な問題解決能力を身に着けられることを重視する。なお本プロジェクトでは、特に科学技術を基盤とした生命・環境にかかわる問題やバリアフリー社会の実現にかかわる問題を重要なテーマとして中心に据える。

本プロジェクトは「生命・環境」ユニットおよび「科学技術・社会」ユニットによって運営される。

プロジェクトに特有な授業例

多文化共生・統合人間学演習V（「生命・環境」ユニット）

「環境・物質と人間社会」
環境やその起源となる物質に関する正しい知識を習得し、それらがかかわる行政や社会教育、あるいは技術開発に携わる人材の育成を目的として、自然科学の各分野、および法令やリスク論といった幅広い観点から放射線と物質に関する講義と演習を行う。さらに、講義で学んだ知識をより身近なものとするために、実習として、最新の機器を用いた環境試料の放射線測定や成分元素の分析実験を行う。

多文化共生・統合人間学演習VI（「科学技術・社会」ユニット）

「生命科学の進歩と社会」
近年の生命科学の進歩はめざましく、記憶や情動を含む脳機能の解明のみならず、幹細胞からの臓器作製、遺伝子配列からの病態予測などが可能となり、得られた知見が様々な形で社会に還元されている。 今後、科学技術と社会との連携がますます必要となるにも関わらず、それらのメリットのみならず“デメリット”を直接議論できるプラットフォームはいまだ多くない。本演習では、科学技術、とりわけ生命科学と社会との関わりはどうあるべきか、多角的に学習・議論する。

多文化共生・統合人間学実験実習III（「科学技術と共生社会」プロジェクト）

「障がいの現場」
国内外の障がい当事者によるコミュニティや支援団体を訪問し、当事者や家族、支援者とのディスカッションを通じて、障がい問題の解決のために真に役立つ研究・技術開発とはどのようなものであるのかについて考える。また、障がいに関わる学際的な研究を行っている国内外の研究機関において共同セミナーを開催し、様々な分野の連携のあり方などについて国内外の研究者と議論を行う。

---

Science, Technology, and Inclusive Society

Units
“Life & Environment” Unit / “Science, Technology, & Society” Unit

Representatives
Yuichiro Watanabe, Shigeru Masuda, and Kohji Ishihara

The goal of this project is to raise the awareness of how technological innovations in basic and applied science may contribute to an inclusive society based on the principles of humanism. Lectures will be held with an emphasis on real world tangible problems, and students will have the chance to gain hands-on experience of the state-of-the-art scientific and technological research. The combination of theoretical and experimental approaches will allow students to acquire concrete problem-solving skills. This project will emphasize technology based life science and environmental issues as well as the challenges facing the implementation of a barrier-free society.

Classes Offered by the Project

Seminar in the Integrated Human Sciences for Cultural Diversity V (“Life & the Environment” Unit)

1 “Environmental elements, Radioactivity and Human Society”
After acquiring the accurate knowledge of the principles underlying environmental elements and radioactivity, students will be encouraged to think about regulations, public education, and the direction to which scientific and technological innovations may be developing. Lectures will be held from a broad perspective, encompassing the standpoints of several natural science disciplines. Legal regulations and risk theory will also be considered. To further familiarize students with the material, we will encourage them to apply the knowledge that they gained during the lectures when measuring the radioactivity and trace elements of environmental samples using the latest equipment.

2 “Chemicals and Human Society”
Having acquired an accurate understanding of the structure and function of familiar chemicals encountered in the environment, food, and pharmaceutical drugs as well as of the related analytical techniques, students will be challenged to think about the regulations that may be drawn up and about the ways in which public education may be conducted. Lectures will adopt a broad perspective that encompasses the standpoints of several natural science disciplines. Legal regulations and risk theory will also be considered. As part of lab practice, chemical trace analysis will be performed on samples from food and the environment.

Seminar in the Integrated Human Sciences for Cultural Diversity VI (“Science, Technology, & Society” Unit)

“Social Implications of Advances in Life Science”
Nowadays life science drastically proceeds, and we have reached the place to knock the door for completely understanding the brain. Life science also enables us to induce artificial organs and to predict diseases from genome sequences. From these points, it is hoped that these studies are fed back to our society. Relationship between life sciences and our society is getting more necessary, but there are only a few platforms to learn their issues. In this seminar, we want to discuss how life science can and should cooperate with the society. In addition to several lectures, we will visit laboratories in which frontier science are extensively studied, and have an experience of basic experiments about brain science.

Fieldwork in the Integrated Human Sciences for Cultural Diversity III(“Science, Technology, and Inclusive Society” Project)

1 “Real-Life Social Barriers: Japan”
At “Bethel’s House”, Urakawa, (a small fishing village in the Northern island of Hokkaido), students will meet and have discussions with persons who have mental disorders as well as with the members of their supporting community, and their family members. Students will be challenged to think of those scientific and technological innovations that may bring solutions to this community.

2 “Real-Life Social Barriers: Abroad”
Through visiting foreign communities and organizations involved with mental health concerns, students will meet and have discussions with persons who have disabilities as well as with the members of their supporting community, and their family members. As in the course, entitled “Real-Life Social Barriers: Japan”, above, students will find themselves challenged to think of those scientific and technological innovations may bring solutions to the problems that the community that they visit is facing. In addition, students will have the chance to participate in seminars organized in collaboration with foreign academics and research institutions and deliberate the question of how the activities in a variety of fields can be coordinated.