Course Criteria
Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Courses Sample Curriculum
- 1. Peace study and peace research
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Comprehensive review of results of interdisciplinary research on nuclear issues, problems in research, and future directions.
- ○Peace research today
- ○Roles of U.N., nations, cities, and individuals in devising and establishing peace policies
- 2. Political science
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Study how the atomic bomb experiences of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have affected nuclear policy around the world
- ○Meaning of nuclear weapons in international politics; the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament
- ○The U.S.-Japan Security Treaty and the nuclear umbrella
- 3. International law
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Study the meaning of the advisory opinion handed down by the International Court of Justice and how to maximize the influence
- ○The advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice
- ○The validity of international law and limits of application
- 4. Philosophy
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Examination of human dignity, life and death, hatred and reconciliation, and related themes, primarily with respect to the lives of the hibakusha.
- ○The meaning of the lives of the hibakusha
- ○The meaning of “Hiroshima” in peace declarations over the years
- 5. Sociology
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Starting with the activities of the hibakusha since the end of the WWII, examine the effectiveness of and problems with various social movements concerned with nuclear issues. Examine the role of NGOs in the anti-nuclear and peace movements.
- ○The nuclear weapon abolition movement and roles played by the hibakusha
- ○Nuclear weapons and the environmental movement
- ○Graduating from the war culture to a peace culture
- 6. History
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The history of the development of the atomic bomb and from conceptualization to use in combat; Japan's responsibility as a perpetrator of war; differences in how different people perceive the dropping of the atomic bomb.
- ○Study of the process leading to the dropping of the bomb and views over time on whether or not the bomb was justified
- ○Japan s culpability
- 7. Psychology
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Study of the psychological effects of dropping the bomb on the hibakusha and on people around the world; military technology and psychology; psychological approaches to moving from the culture of violence to the culture of peace.
- ○The psychological effects of dropping the atomic bomb
- ○Going beyond nuclear deterrence, MAD (mutually assured destruction) theory, and tit for tat.
- 8. Education
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Examination of the status of peace education and its problems in Japan and other countries in the world; examination of understandings of“Hiroshima” and “Nagasaki” and how they have been handled in peace education to date. -- The status of peace education at each level (elementary, junior high, and high school education)
- ○Examination of ways “Hiroshima and Nagasaki” have been handled in peace education to date
- 9. Literature and art
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Using novels, journals, films, and paintings as subject matter, systematic examination of A-bomb literature and other examples of works of art that reveal how art culture has related to the atomic bombing
- ○“Hiroshima and Nagasaki” in culture and art
- ○Comparative studies of holocaust literature
- 10. Physics, urban engineering and construction engineering
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Analysis of the power of the atomic bomb and the actual damage it inflicted; simulations of using nuclear weapons in various situations and places
- ○Quantitative analysis and study of the damage done by the atomic bombings
- ○Simulations of damage done by nuclear weapons
- 11. Medical science
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Examination of the medical effects on human bodies by the atomic bombing, the status of medical care for victims of radiation exposure
- ○Medical effects of the atomic bombings
- ○Medical care for victims of radiation exposure
- 12. Scientific technology and nature; scientific technology and society
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Re-examination of the relationships between humans, nature and scientific technology from the standpoint that nuclear weapons are an absolute evil; establishment of guidelines for using scientific technology only for the true benefit of humanity; probing policies on scientific technology and industry
- ○The status of weapons of mass destruction and the issues therein
- ○How to bring scientific technology into harmony with nature
