In a sense, the Cultural and Human Information Studies Course is the most distinctive of all the courses in the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies. It is concerned directly with the task of constructing a new interdisciplinary field of information studies fusing aspects of the humanities and social sciences with elements of the natural sciences.

Faculty members associated with this course come from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, including Science Technology and Society, Science Communication, Cognitive Science, Affordance Theory, Media Art, Cultural Studies, Semiotics, Asian Studies, Historical Information Studies, Archive Studies, Media Studies, Media Literacy, Educational Environment Design, Workshop Design, Library Information Studies, Linguistic Analysis, Political Communications, Public Opinion, etc. This diversity provides a basis for a very open and rich educational and research experience. The course includes students interested in pursuing creative and expressive work, as well as students intending to carry out theoretical and empirical research.

The three main areas of study in this course are: (1) Humanity and Environment, (2) History and Culture, (3) Media and Communication. These form a framework around which numerous ambitious projects are being pursued with the aim of developing fresh approaches and strategies in the cultural and human sciences capable of dealing with a wide range of both practical and theoretical issues of the twenty-first century. Students in this course are trained to become experts in research and other practical fields equipped with the profound knowledge and methodological acuity that are sure to be needed in the world of the future.

Successful completion of this course leads to the awarding of a degree with the title “M.A.S. (Interdisciplinary Information Studies)” or “Ph.D. (Interdisciplinary Information Studies)”.