Dr. Joseph DeChicchis
Professor, School of Policy Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University
 
KGU SPS course description (シラバス)
 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

• There will be no exam during the final exam period. The grade for the course will be comprehensive. The grade will be based on participation and homework assignments.
• Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we will be communicating on line. Beginning on 20 April, until further notice, all class meetings will be on line via Zoom.
• Homework submission and other participation will be done via the Internet.
• Please check this website frequently (at least every Tuesday morning) for updates.
• If you do not have good access to the internet on Tuesdays, please tell me.

On 29 June 2021:

• Zoom discussion of final slide show (PowerPoint or Keynote or PDF) assignment:
     Make a new policy (or improve an existing policy) for an organization (government, school, association) in Japan.
     Describe the stages of your policy development using a Policy Cycle model.
• Example of a slide show.

On 22 June 2021:

• Zoom discussion of 2021 Japanese passport improvement.
• Zoom discussion of some other language and culture policy issues in Japan [cf. Japan culture policy issues].

On 15 June 2021:

• Zoom discussion of Japanese passport.
• HOMEWORK: Read 2021 Japanese passport improvement.

On 8 June 2021:

• Zoom discussion of ID names.
• HOMEWORK: Read The transcription of personal names: the Japanese passport [PDF]
  Note the use of special vocabulary: proof of identity, documentary name, script, shimei, seimei, documentary evidence, attested pronunciation, transcribe, romanization, apostrophe, macron, circumflex, browbeat, cursive, tsūshōmei

On 1 June 2021:

• Zoom discussion of the Policy Cycle.
• HOMEWORK: Think about how to apply the Policy Cycle to a policy you have described in any of your earlier homework.

On 25 May 2021:

• Zoom discussion of policy scope and stakeholders.
• Stakeholders are the people (sometimes considered as associations or organizations) who care about (or should care about) a policy. Stakeholders have a "stake" in the policy. There are many types of stakeholders. The people who make the policy are stakeholders, and so are the people whose behavior is controlled by the policy. Other people can also be stakeholders, e.g., people who may be affected by the outcomes of a policy.
• HOMEWORK: Read about the Policy Cycle.

On 18 May 2021:

• Zoom discussion of rational teleology.
• HOMEWORK: Consider three of the policies you have written about: household, KGU, and national. Are the duties and bans imposed on the same persons?
  HOMEWORK: In addition to the persons on whom duties and bans are imposed, are there any other persons who should care about these policies?
  Please e-mail your homework answers to "j@kwansei.ac.jp" by Sunday, 23 May.

On 11 May 2021:

• Zoom discussion of “policy” and “law”.
• A policy is not the same as a law. How are policies and laws different?
  Consider your household policies:
  (duties) What must some/every person do?
  (bans) What actions are prohibited for some persons? for everyone?
  Policies often assign roles to people, and then require or forbid certain behaviors of persons in certain roles.
  How are policies enforced? For each policy of your household that you have described, describe the consequences of violating the policy.
• Read about some Duke University policies. What is the “owner” of a policy? Is it the author of the policy? the enforcer of the policy? the group bound by the policy?
• HOMEWORK: Describe a KGU policy that is similar to one of the Duke University policies. Who must follow the policy? What happens to a person who does not follow the policy?
  HOMEWORK: Copy a Japanese law (municipal, prefectural, or national) that prohibits the use of alcohol or tobacco. Who must follow this law? What happens to a person who does not follow this law?
  Does the KGU policy and the Japanese law give reasons for the policy/law (as Duke does for its smoking policy)?
  Please e-mail your homework answers to "j@kwansei.ac.jp" by Sunday, 23 May.

On 27 April 2021:

• Zoom discussion of “policy” and 政策 today. (The next Zoom meeting will be on 11 May.)
• HOMEWORK: Describe three policies which the people in your household follow. By "household", I mean the group of people who live together with you (e.g., your parents, grandparents, siblings; anyone who lives together with you in your house or apartment). If you currently live alone, describe policies that you followed in the last place you lived as part of a group. For example, it could be a policy about smoking, or about gomi-no-hi, or about using an exhaust fan, or about TV, or about leaving a certain door open, or about clothes on the balcony, or about ordering pizza, or about parking a car. Any policies are fine.
  Please e-mail your homework answer to "j@kwansei.ac.jp" by Sunday, 9 May.

On 20 April 2021:

• Don't forget about our Zoom meeting today. We will discuss possible research topics and end-of-semester research days.
• HOMEWORK: How does the meaning of "policy" differ from the meaning of 政策?
  You should study the historical use of the word 政策 before you try to answer this question.
  Please e-mail your homework answer to "j@kwansei.ac.jp" by Sunday, 25 April. Please write your ID number in the SUBJECT field of the e-mail.

On 13 April 2021:

• Please use your keitai to send an e-mail to "j@kwansei.ac.jp" with the following information:
  (SUBJECT) your ID number and nickname
  your kanji shimei 氏名
  your kana shimei しめい or シメイ
  your romaji shimei or “mei-shi”, whichever order you prefer
  your keitai phone number
  your Gmail address (If you do not have a Gmail account, please make one.)
  your 〒 postal mailing address
  your 👶 photo 📷
• HOMEWORK: A “policy” is a rule for behavior. It is typically “a course of action” or “a principle of action” that is adopted or proposed by an organization, a government, an association, a business, or an individual person. Language is a sophisticated behavior used to interact with other people, and “language policy” is about the rules for using language. Please read Metaphors of Language [PDF], and think about the meaning of language in the context of policy studies.
   
  (This page was last updated on 28 June 2021.)