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少人数（10人くらい）で外国語文献をいっしょに読む場です。文献の分野もテーマや対象も多様です。これまでに私の担当したグループで読んだのは、言語学、心理学、人類学、哲学など、人が生きていくことに深く関わる分野の論文で、偽物と本物、遊びが制限された時の子どもの行動、多文化状況でのご近所づきあいや、学校での昼食時間のコミュニケーションなどを取り上げるものでした。どの論文も、具体的事象を手掛かりに新たな研究分野を開拓し、物事の新しい見方を切り開いた野心的なものばかりです。

「面白そうだけど、論文を読むのは大変そう」と思うかもしれませんね。たしかに読む文献は外国語で書かれていて、しかも中身も骨太で、私自身も読むのにいつも苦労します。でもこの場では、すらすら素早く読むことよりも「じっくり読んで、しっかり理解する」読み方を大事にします。そのため、たった10ページの論文を半年間かけて読むこともあります。じっくりゆっくり噛み締めるように読んでみると、ひとつひとつの言葉・用語の深さや味わいがわかってくるのです。そこで初めて、テクストが開く世界がよく見えてきます。同時に、私たちにとってはすっかり当たり前になっている「読む」行為も、新たに、しっかりと掴み直せるようになります。

「読む」ことを通して学問の世界の扉を開くことが、この授業の第一の目的だと思っています。でもそれだけではありませんね。文献は、いつも私たちの想定や理解を超える何か大事なことを話したがっています。文献を「読む」レッスンは、単に新しい情報を得ることに留まらず、想定や理解を越えた未知の「他者」に出会って、相手にいかに関わるか、相手の言葉をいかに聴くか、という、きわめて実践的な姿勢を学びとる重要な機会にも通じています。みんなで励まし合ってその局面に臨むのが、この授業の場です。じわじわと楽しいですよ。

After understanding the basic contents of psychology, the next step is to learn how to conduct research. The discipline of psychology contains both knowledge and theoretical aspects, as well as different methodological approaches. Psychology Research Methods will handle the methodological aspects: how to actually collect data, and how the information we have today was created. Students will learn theories in Statistical Methods in Psychology and methodology in Research Methods in Psychology. Then, they will spend half a year in Psychology Experiments, using one specific methodology to gather data, analyze it, and present it. After this stage, students will write their final thesis, building upon the knowledge of methods that they have acquired. This class is rigorously designed to help students conduct experiments and research well. I hope that students will take this class seriously.

The class will take place over two periods each Wednesday. Each methodological approach will be covered over the two classes: The first class will be a lecture on the methodology, and the second class will be a practical class where students will actually discuss and analyze certain data. Then, after submitting a report, the class will move on to the next methodology. The teachers that are specialized in a specific research method will be in charge of the two periods on that methodology, such that the class will be taught by a different teacher each week.

There is nothing in particular to prepare, but please make sure to review the Statistical Methods in Psychology class that you took prior to this one. You may wonder why you are being forced to do all this math, but it is worth remembering that statistics will form the basis of your research. Statistics has its own prototypes, so if you learn to flexibly use it, you will be able to clearly identify the appropriate design for your research.

People may have a literary or even religious image of psychology. However, psychology is inherently scientific. You have to come up with hypotheses, collect data, and make objective observations based on them. Please do some research and study in advance to find out what psychology is all about, so that you do not feel overwhelmed when your image of psychology is different from what you find at university.