The 21st Century Center of Excellence Program:
Research and Education for Peace, Security and Conviviality
Yoichiro Murakami
ICU
COE Program Leader
People say there is a distinct relationship between progress in civilization
and diseases that afflict society. In the inchoate stage of civilization,
many perish from gastrointestinal infectious diseases. The shift to the
second stage occurs not only because of improvements in medicine, but also
due to infrastructural developments. At this stage, rampant respiratory
infectious diseases, mainly pulmonary tuberculosis, take a toll on lives,
spreading through poor conditions in factories and workers’ living environments.
After this epidemic is quelled, the protagonist in the third stage is diseases
caused by personal habits, brought on by a combination of heredity and
culture. In the fourth stage, people struggle to find their identity and
place in society. The tribulations of those who have difficulty relating
to society may lead some to suicide. This malady is intrinsic in civilized
society. Modern Japanese society is considered to be moving towards this
fourth stage.
Furthermore, in civilized society, functions that individuals had carried out in the past by themselves, from educating their offspring and providing for their family’s well-being to disposal of garbage, have been entrusted to external social systems. But individuals still have to shoulder much responsibility themselves. The tension between the paternalism of the administrative authority or power structure and the individual’s responsibility has become a source of anxiety.
Shifting our attention to the international society, the end of the Cold
War certainly removed the imminent crisis of world war. However, local
and ethnic conflicts continue to take place around the world. Small arms
that became ubiquitous during the Cold War and left-over landmines fostered
global anxiety, culminating in the events of 9/11. North-south/south-south
structural disparities of power and wealth have increasingly been intensified,
rather than mitigated. The friction we witness now cannot be summarized
in a single phrase such as “the clash of civilizations,” but it is certain
that it saw its genesis in the strain wrought by the progress of civilization.
At the same time, it is evident that civilization is moving towards a breakdown
of multilateral cultural and religious co-existence.
We cannot neglect problems in the global environment caused by civilization. Regardless of whether the problem is carbon dioxide, holes in the ozone layer, desertification, or acid rain, we must seek holistic approaches to overall issues in civilization, as well as particular solutions for each. Besides, these emanate from loss of the pluralistic and sustainable foundation of humankind.
In this light, we find that modern civilized society, although contributing to the improvement of our lives, now is causing crisis and anxiety for the whole earth and civilized society, producing problems unprecedented in the history of human beings. We need to find preventive measures as well as stand by people who feel anxiety and suffer from crises, finding and implementing solutions for each. The vast front we need to deal with will range from creating social systems, forming communities, improving medical systems and educating people to enhance their awareness. This is why we propose to undertake this Research and Education for Peace, Security and Conviviality.
We must build a comprehensive grand theory to tackle these new problems and to make concrete proposals for policy to solve each problem. In order to meet the challenges in the Research and Education for Peace, Security and Conviviality, the whole university needs to work on the program. In order to overcome inherent obstacles, we will simultaneously adopt a top-down method by constructing the grand theory, and a bottom-up method of absorbing ideas from respective cases. Researchers will bring together their findings from individual fields, and hammer out a comprehensive strategy. The organizational structure of the ICU Graduate School comprised of the Divisions of Public Administration (social sciences), Education, Natural Sciences, and Comparative Culture (humanities), assures close collaboration between these fields, providing an ideal research environment for the achievement of this program.
About the ICU-COE Program (July 2003-March 2008)
Follow-Ups on the ICU-COE Program (April 2008 - )
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