Missions and Goals
Educational Missions
In the tradition of women’s higher education that we have been providing since our establishment, Nara Women’s University Faculty of Letters offers a high level of specialized education in the fields of humanity, society, and culture, while emphasizing an interdisciplinary perspective. Through this education, the faculty nurtures independent-thinking women who proactively participate in various areas of society.
Educational Goals
By providing high-quality liberal arts education and specialized education coordinated between various academic disciplines, the Faculty of Letters cultivates richly creative human beings who have acquired a broad liberal arts education and profound specialization.
The Faculty of Letters has the following three goals.
1. Education that cultivates a critical thinker in society
The faculty nurtures human beings with the ability to critically observe society and make appropriate decisions, thinking critically and creatively in our free and liberal educational environment.
2. Education that nurtures the ability to think from an international perspective
The faculty educates global citizens who possess solid historical and cultural understandings and a wide range of linguistic abilities that accompany them.
3. Education that aims for deep understanding of humanity
The faculty cultivates humans with the ability to comprehensively understand the workings of the mind and body, as well as a great sensibility and insight regarding humanity.
Educational Goals of the Faculty of Letters
The goals of the Faculty of Letters are to cultivate humans who have a knowledge of human and social sciences rooted in a profound insight into humanity; advance interdisciplinary and comprehensive research on a diversity of issues involving humans and the world around us; provide high-level specialized education based on the results of this research; and contribute to the resolution of various complex issues facing modern society. (Faculty of Letters Regulations Article 1-2)
Educational Goals of Departments
1. The educational goal of the Department of History, Sociology, and Geography is to educate humans who have the ability to think richly and make decisions appropriately from diachronic, spatial, and relational perspectives, thereby possessing the ability to contribute broadly to society, through education and research on the cultures and societies of Japan and other counties throughout the world.
2. The educational goal of the Department of Language and Culture is to educate global citizens who have a broad scope of knowledge of cultural phenomena; who have the ability to think freely, imaginatively, and flexibly; and who are capable of playing an active role in international society. These goals are achieved through fundamental and comprehensive research and education on various phenomena and issues in the fields of language and literature.
3. The educational goal of the Department of Human Sciences is to cultivate humans with the ability to contribute to the creation of a society and culture in which each individual can live a full life. To achieve this goal, students will conduct comprehensive research and educational activities on human existence and development, focusing on human life and interaction in society and culture. (Faculty of Letters Regulations Article 2-2)
Research Goals of the Faculty of Letters
In accordance with the basic missions of the University, the research goals of the Faculty of Letters are to advance interdisciplinary and comprehensive research on a diversity of issues involving humans and the world around us, using a knowledge of human and social sciences rooted in a profound insight into humanities. In addition to advancing high-level basic and applied research, as well as proactively communicating research results to society, the faculty undertakes research that can contribute locally and globally.
Research Goals of Each Department
1. The research goal of the Department of History, Sociology and Geography is to advance interdisciplinary and comprehensive research on the characteristics of history, societies, cultures, and communities of Japan and world from an international comparative perspective. The department’s major research fields are history, sociology, and geography, and it pays particular attention to the Nara region—the cradle of ancient Japanese culture.
2. The research goal of the Department of Language and Culture is to advance interdisciplinary and comprehensive research in language and culture, separately and individually, as well as in their universal structures, characteristics, and communicative functions. The department’s major research fields are linguistics, Japanese language and culture, Chinese language and literature, English language and British and American literature, French language and literature, and German language and literature.
3. The research goal of the Department of Human Sciences is to advance interdisciplinary and comprehensive research of human development, human behavior, ethics, and the human body. The department’s major research fields are education, philosophy, ethics, music, and psychology.