A new field of study focusing on a comprehensive understanding of human and social development

Keywords

globalization, regional society, cultural change, neoliberalism, third world, publicness

We live in a society that has a number of contradictions and serious problems. These appear at a host of circumstance and in a various ways. For instance, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident revealed the fragility of the industrial structure and our life style based on mass energy consumption. It also discloses the adversary of local communities which have no other option but to invite risky nuclear power plant to survive with allotted budget. The global financial crisis and the resulting political turmoil have exposed the fickleness of capitalism and the hollowness of justice and solidarity in the contemporary society. The poverty-stricken people of developing countries, who wish for nothing more than to be able to live and work, are utterly vulnerable to the interests of developed countries. It appears as if we are headed for catastrophe, unable to control our own society.

On the other hand, genuine ‘development’ of society overcoming contradictions can be achieved only in combination with ‘human development’ of individuals and human being at large. It is required that mankind should examine, for survival, the path to the crisis in the past then pursue ‘self-change as well as ‘social transformation’ in the future. In order to accomplish it, we must absorb the precious knowledge of existing disciplines such as economics, politics, law, history, geography, and sociology, while we must gain a comprehensive understanding of humankind and society free from the isolated conventional framework to each discipline. Social Environment Science is a new field of study concerned with gaining a better comprehension of society in order to shed light on the relationship between the human development and social development.

There are clearly challenges involved in developing a new field of study. Social Environment Science is still in its infancy. Participation and cooperation of students with passion for learning and research are required in order for this new field of study to develop further.

We welcome all students to join us in this challenge, and we look forward to working with you.