上智大学 国際教養学部 FLA AO入試　英語志望理由書 提出例 (安野　正士 教授参考)

上智大学 国際教養学部 FLA AO入試　英語志望理由書 提出例 (安野　正士 教授参考)

Despite humanitarian work and advocate for equality, the economic divide between the rich and poor is only getting bigger. According to OECD, merely 1% of the population controls half of the global wealth, next 5% owns roughly 33% of all resources which leaves 25% to the vast majority of the population and it is only up to us which group we want to be in. Globalization for sure brought some positive changes to our lives, but at the same time, widespread dissatisfaction is growing about the effects of globalization. Around the world, between nations and peoples, fault lines are starting to grow as represented by Brexit and the U.S. under the leadership of Donald Trump. Increasing surge of nationalism and everyone seems busy securing their own fortune, in the time of globalization and unstable international climate on top of economic depression.

Ignorance is a blessing in one way. And very fortunately, we are able to live in our bubbles in a country economically established like Japan, unaware of what is happening in the world now. Although I can choose to do the same, I choose to cast challenges to myself as the world has become “smaller” and I wish to be a part of it – which starts with competitive entrance exams, education in English, exposure to diversity, study abroad and to become an opinionated individual than conforming. In order to achieve that, the first step would be to get admitted to a school which promotes all the above, from liberal art studies in English to a flexible curriculum. I feel that FLA is the pioneer in its adoption in Japan, and it is my top choice since my sister had great learning experience during her 4 years at the school.

Largely, I am interested in studying correlations between globalisation and nationalism. I think that globalisation is a process of interaction and integration among the people, businesses, and governments of different nations. A process is driven by international trade and investment, and aided by access to information technology. So if you are not part of it, you will be left behind. Aforementioned, while globalization has increased economic interdependence and has seemingly decreased economic nationalism, bringing positive impacts, this is not always the case everywhere. Across the West, it has begun to see criticisms from working-class individuals because of how transnational corporations have led to the outsourcing of low-skilled manufacturing jobs that used to employ many people. This resentment is referred to as the left behind thesis, which posits that globalization has raised prosperity across the world, with the exception of the working class in Western societies and it is happening in Japan as well. I don’t necessarily think that outsourcing of jobs is a good thing, it is just a temporary phase where the rich benefit more and people who couldn’t cope with the changes brought by the era of information and technology suffer.

Many experts argue, globalisation began around the 16th century. When the world experienced increased maritime exploration by British, Portugueses and Spanish and also groundbreaking cultural innovations such as the Italian Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, as well as the beginning of modern science as we know it today. However, this is a very west-central view and it can also be traced back to the Silk Road where sharing of cultures and intellectual findings between the West and the East happened. I strongly believe that advanced studies can often be west-centric and we need to be conscious of the authors of each text book and cultural background behind research data points.

For that reason, more than joining a school in the West, I believe it is a better choice to do equivalent study in Japan where I can develop a sense of cultural objectivity, study my own heritage and yet go abroad to learn about what they do better.

I can’t express in words, but I am very thrilled to join the school to pursue a major in comparative cultural studies and international relations in order to evaluate the histories of both globalization and nationalism, their convergence, and understand what is to come to be ahead of the world. Thank you very much for reading.