Numbering Code	U-LET30 37361 PJ45	Year/Term	2022 ・ Year-round
Number of Credits	2	Course Type	Practical training
Target Year		Target Student
Language	Japanese	Day/Period	Fri.4
Instructor name	ASATO WAKO (Graduate School of Letters Associate Professor)
Outline and Purpose of the Course	The purpose of this class is to learn fieldwork methods while planning and executing a regional social study using the following five criteria: (1) to learn the systems and wisdom of the social organization that the regional community has fostered; (2) to learn the realities of the difficulties faced by the regional community (troubles with agriculture, forestry and fishing, lack of successors, depopulation, decreasing birthrate and gaining population, etc.) and consider responses; (3) to examine how the region, which is expected to suffer enormous damage from the Tokai, Nankai, and Tonankai earthquakes, is preparing (or not preparing) to deal with the issue; (4) reveal problem points and potential by collaborating with the community on implementing the various "regional revitalization" projects that people in the regional community are working on; and (5) return the results of the social study to the region by considering the picture of the near future in the area together with local people. The study area will be the Kishu region of Mie prefecture, in which this laboratory has been conducting regional social studies ("learning in the region") in collaboration with local government bodies since 1998.
Course Goals	The objective of this course is to learn from a local area, seeing how the local people plan for societal reorganization and rebuilding in the face of various difficulties in a small society troubled by progressive depopulation and population aging, declining occupational infrastructure, and issues with preserving the social fabric and rituals.
Schedule and Contents	Period 1 (Weeks 1-3): Primarily learn about the actual conditions in rural districts in modern Japanese society. Period 2 (Weeks 4-6): Learn from an accumulation of regional sociology and village sociology on the theoretical frameworks of Japanese rural sociology and regional sociology. Period 3 (Weeks 7-9): Learn the fundamental thinking, methods, and skills for fieldwork. Period 4 (Weeks 10-12): After an overview of the survey area and sorting through previous studies on the area, conduct a preliminary investigation. Period 5 (Weeks 13-15): Collaborate with local supports to design the survey and conduct the main survey. Period 6 (Weeks 16-18): Organize field survey data Period 7 (Weeks 19-21): Theoretically position the information based on survey data Period 8 (Weeks 22-24): Conduct supplementary surveys while examining the present condition of other comparative regions Period 9 (Weeks 25-27): Create individual reports and present, debate, and examine them Period 10 (Weeks 28-30): Complete reports and return the results to the local area
Evaluation Methods and Policy	Assessments based on class participation (50%) and written reports (50%).
Course Requirements	Students must participate in the preliminary survey (June: one night, two days), the main survey in particular (late September: three nights, four days), and the supplementary survey (November: one night, two days). They must also write reports regarding the results of these surveys.
Study outside of Class (preparation and review)	Participating students will each choose a district in the study area and form teams of five people to collaborate on running a field survey.
Textbooks	Textbooks/References	None
References, etc.	Will be presented in class
Courses delivered by Instructors with Practical Work Experience	分類： A course that includes off-campus training classes.