Since its establishment in 1922 as the Faculty of Letters and the Department of Philosophy in the Faculty of Law and Letters, Hosei University's Faculty of Letters, while inheriting the university's founding spirit of "freedom and progress," has pursued studies that are deeply connected to culture as a whole and has produced human resources equipped with a broad humanistic education. Inheriting this good tradition, the Department of Philosophy aims to promote research that redefines human beings and society for the new era, nurture independent citizens with the "enterprising spirit" cultivated throughout the university, and demonstrate true intelligence to solve problems in an increasingly diverse world.
Department of Philosophy
The motto of the Department of Philosophy is to nurture independent and autonomous individuals backed by a deep philosophical education, based on the university's founding spirit of freedom and progress. In other words, the Department of Philosophy aims to comprehensively nurture individuals who are not influenced by the times or authority, who are enterprising and can maintain a positive attitude toward things, who have an international perspective and diverse interests, who can actively advocate with a broad mind toward others, and who can think deeply and logically about things and argue persuasively, The department aims to contribute to modern society by developing individuals who can think logically and deeply about matters and who are capable of making persuasive arguments.
The Department of Sociology has the longest history of any Faculty of Letters, and has sent out many outstanding individuals who have gone on to play important roles in the Department of Sociology. Based on this history, we will always strive to make contributions to the world that transcend the changes of the times.
Department of Japanese Literature
The Department of Japanese Literature will maintain the academic culture that embodies the university's founding spirit of "freedom and progress," which has been cultivated since its establishment, and will promote cutting-edge and diverse research on the history and current state of Japanese literature, language, and performing arts, and will utilize the results of such research to nurture human resources with the "enterprising spirit" that bears the tradition of Hosei University. The Department of English Language and Literature aims to pass on to the world and to future generations the rich heritage of the Japanese language and culture that has been accumulated over several hundred years.
Department of English
The Department of English Literature aims to deepen students' understanding of the literature and culture of the English-speaking world, and to cultivate scientific ways of thinking through the study of English and natural languages including English.
The three different fields of study in the Department of English Literature - English Literature, English Linguistics, and Linguistics - can be summarized as "the study of the English language (and other natural languages). English," which interweaves these three different disciplines, forms the basis of study in the Department of English. By increasing students' motivation to learn English and improving their basic academic skills, we believe that they will deepen their understanding of each field of study.
With the "language" of English as a foundation, the department aims to cultivate the ability to think and an ethical awareness that will enable students to think more deeply about their own lives and the world through literature, and to cultivate scientific analytical and thinking skills through linguistics. Through these efforts, the Department aims to contribute broadly to the world by fostering flexible and rational human beings who are highly sensitive and empathetic to the human condition, and who can logically communicate this empathy to others, rather than merely possessing it as an emotional feeling.
Department of History
History is the study of collecting historical materials, interpreting their contents, analyzing them, and systematizing them to construct a historical picture. The Department of History trains students to master the methodology of historical studies based on historical materials, and through this, fosters individuals with the "eye for history" as a thinking ability that can logically see from the past to the future. Such an "eye for history" will lead to the ability to objectively assess one's own position in history and independently make decisions on how to take the next step forward, embodying Hosei University's founding spirit of "freedom and progress" and "enterprising spirit. Through the development of such human resources, the Department of History will contribute to society at large.
Department of Geography
Geography, positioned in Europe and the United States as the "mother of all sciences," is today also highly regarded as a comprehensive science deeply concerned with global environmental issues. This is the reason why geography is called "the old and new science.
Geography is the study of natural and human phenomena occurring in the vicinity of the Earth's surface, where human beings live, as temporally and spatially distributed phenomena, and attempts to approach these phenomena from a scientific perspective while engaging with the various sciences in the surrounding area. Through the study of geography as a comprehensive science, the Department of Sociology aims to nurture competent human resources who can contribute to a diverse society by acquiring a "geographical" way of looking at things and thinking, which is expected to play an increasingly important role in modern society in the future.
Department of Psychology
The world of the mind is often thought of as a subjective, personal matter that cannot be seen from the outside, but psychology is the study of the mind in an objective form that can be observed and measured, and analyzed scientifically. In the Department of Sociology, students will acquire a solid knowledge of psychology that can contribute to society, based on the two main fields of development and cognition, as well as acquire methods for studying the mechanisms of the mind.