Research Center for Ars Vivendi
The Research Center for Ars Vivendi at Ritsumeikan University was established at Kinugasa Campus of Ritsumeikan University on November 7, 2007 as the educational and research institute to promote global activities upon recognition of our Global COE Program Ars Vivendi by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology in academic year 2007. During academic year 2007 to 2011, the Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences and the Institute of Human Sciences have had interagency collaboration and conducted various activities at our center. Based on these achievements, we become a core research center in Japan by envisaging, proposing, practising, and developing ars vivendi (the art of living). Moreover, we aim at intercommunication of ars vivendi both in Japan and overseas as global center by strengthening the collaboration with foreign researchers.
Our Main Activities
- On the axis of "disability, aging, illness, and differences" we aim to make the next leap forward by focusing on the four academic themes--①modern history of ars vivendi, ②ethnography of ars vivendi, ③system/policy of ars vivendi, and ④science/technology of ars vivendi. We hold seminars, workshops, international seminars etc. by developing while integrating these four themes.
- We let people in the world know our research achievements via various media. To be more concrete, we publish Seizongaku (Ars Vivendi), a paper-based journal, and Ars Vivendi Journal, a multilanguage electronic journal. In addition, we let people in the world know our research achievements via website, SNS (social network service), or email newsletters, and so on.
- We construct archives of materials concerning activities of the involved persons, such as journals published by patients' groups and groups of people with disabilities and reflect its accumulation on our center's activities.
- We conduct research exchange / social cooperation activities of the involved persons with disabilities or illness using our archives.
- We promote research / social activities in cooperation with projects which are organized by such young researchers as graduate students or post-doctoral fellow.
- We aim at social proposals and practices by promoting collaborative research with researchers, patients' groups or NPOs both in Japan and overseas in the related field of ars vivendi, competitive research grants, and research projects commissioned by governmental and private institutions.
Members
Our Center consists of the director, vice director, and administrative staff.
Director
- NISHI Masahiko (Professor, Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences, Ritsumeikan University)
Eminent Associate Professors
- ABE Akira (Eminent Associate Professor, Kinugasa Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University)
- WATANABE Katsunori (Eminent Associate Professor, Kinugasa Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University)
Senior Researchers/Researcher
- KOKADO Minori (Senior Researcher, Kinugasa Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University)
- KONDO Hiroshi (Senior Researcher, Kinugasa Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University)
- KATAOKA Minoru (Researcher, Kinugasa Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University)
Administrative Staff
- NOMURA Yoshito (Research Office (Kinugasa))
- NAKAMURA Ayako (Research Office (Kinugasa))
Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences of Ritsumeikan University
The Graduate School tries to innovate and synthesize humanities and social science through "core ethics" and thus aims at spawning new research areas based on the four themes-- "publicness," "life," "socio-cultural symbiosis," and "representation." The Graduate School is a unique and new type of a project-based five-year graduate school without its undergraduate school which features a practical research and education system through participation of project seminars and cultivation of researchers as a result of collaboration with various researchers. The Graduate School has various types of extrance exminations, including the examination for entering as D3 (for applicants with master's degree) and the examination for working adults.
Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences of Ritsumeikan University
Institute of Human Sciences of Ritsumeikan University
The Institute of Human Sciences of Ritsumeikan University aims at conducting research concerning human beings and society generally and academically. The Institute features collaborative research concerning modern issues. The Institute has been developing a new project called "A Comprehensive and Proactive Simulation of an Inclusive Community: Creating a Sustainable Model of Collaborative Services Using the University as a Core Resource," which is sponsored by a grant of Strategic Research Foundation Grant-aided Project for Private Universities from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science, and Technology, Japan (MEXT) since academic year 2010. The Institute collaborates with the Research Center for Ars Vivendi in order to develop research activities.
