 Courses: Japanese Track
100-level | 200-level | 300-level | Departmental Honors JPN 101-102 Beginning Japanese
Introduction to the modern standard Japanese language. Emphasis on developing proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing, using basic expressions and sentence patterns. Five periods. Each semester earns 1.25 unit of credit; however, both semesters must be completed satisfactorily to | | receive credit for either course.
Course Website | More Information JPN 111 Gender and Popular Culture of Japan
(in English)
Our study of Japanese popular culture focuses on gender issues, particularly on how girls are represented in Japanese comic books, magazines, fiction, television, animation, and film. We ask why the girl sparks such intense interest in Japan and explore how she both challenges and reaffirms existing gender norms. A lightening rod for social change in Japan, even for modernity itself, representations of the girl illuminate the status of women, the changing role of the family, issues of ethnic and national identity, sexual orientation, and even Japan's relation to the outside world. No previous knowledge of Japan or Japanese language required.
Course Website | More Information JPN 130 Japanese Animation
(in English)
What makes Japan tick? New visitors to Japan are always struck by the persistence of traditional esthetics, arts, and values in a highly industrialized society entranced by novelty. Through animation films (English subtitles) and readings on animation we will explore this phenomenon from the inside. Focus is on the works of Tezuka Osamu, Hayao Miyazaki, and others. No Japanese language required.
Course Website | More Information JPN 155 Exploring Solitude: Japanese Writers Across the Ages
(in English)
In Japanese literature solitude has been shaped into an intensely emotional response to nature and human experience. The esthetic values which many feel lie at the heart of the Japanese literary and artistic tradition: sabi (solitude), wabi (the aged or weathered), yugen (subtle mystery), shiori (wilting) arose from this preoccupation with solitude. What Buddhist cultural beliefs influenced the development of these values in Japan? How are they recast in modern fiction to recapture what is felt to be a uniquely "Japanese" atmosphere? We will be reading selections from a variety of the classics such as The Tale of Gengi and the haiku poetry of Basho, as well as contemporary authors such as Banana Yoshimoto.
Course Website | More Information Top of Page JPN 201-202 Intermediate Japanese
Continuation of 101-102. The first semester will emphasize further development of listening and speaking skills with more complex language structures as well as proficiency in reading and writing. The second semester will emphasize reading and writing skills. Five periods. Each semester earns 1.25 unit of credit; however, both semesters must be completed satisfactorily to receive credit for either course.
Course Website | More Information JPN 231 Selected Readings in Advanced Japanese I
Emphasis on development and refinement of language skills with the aim of achieving fluency in verbal expression and mastery of reading and writing skills. Students will be given the opportunity to select individual readings appropriate to their area of interest, as well as the opportunity to develop their reading comprehension and oral skills as a group. Popular TV dramas and email exchanges with students in Japan will complement the reading/writing component of the course. Meets three days a week.
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JPN 232 Selected Readings in Advanced Japanese II
This course is a continuation of 231 with an emphasis on independent reading and writing skills. Students will give oral presentations on their readings throughout the semester as well as participating in debates and directing class discussions. Meets three days a week.
Course Website | More Information JPN 250 Research or Individual Study
Course Website | More Information JPN 250H Research or Individual Study
Course Website | More Information JPN 251 Japanese Writers and their Worlds
A study of the emerging voice of the writer in Japan from the tenth through the eighteenth centuries. Texts will include the early poetic diaries of the Heian Court ladies, The Tale of Genji, the Noh plays, puppet plays and the haiku poetry of Matsuo Basho. Emphasis is on the changing world of the Japanese writer, the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism, and the role of the texts in shaping Japanese aesthetic principles. Selected films shown throughout course.
Course Website | More Information JPN 256 Japanese Film: The Restaging on a Culture
(in English)
From stalwart warriors to runaway lovers, we trace the complex strands of Japan's modern identity through its national cinema. Japanese directors have used film to examine and rearrange narrative and aesthetic conventions. At the same time, they have fashioned a unique language of film that counters the conventions of Hollywood. We will explore these concepts and their broader cultural context through an analysis of film clips and the use of literary and historical texts.
Course Website | More Information Top of Page JPN 309 Readings in Contemporary Japanese Social Science
Readings in Japanese with selections from current newspapers and journals. Areas of student interest will help to determine the texts for the course. Two periods with discussion section.
Course Website | More Information JPN 310 Directed Readings in Modern Japanese Prose
Students will select independent projects to pursue throughout the semester. In addition to independent work, students will read together as a class twice a week from a variety of postwar literary texts. Independent readings will be presented to the class to form part of the class assignments. Focus is on reading comprehension and translation skills. Writing skills will be addressed through short weekly writing assignments. Two periods with one independent tutorial weekly.
Course Website | More Information JPN 312 Readings in Classical Japanese Prose
Reading and discussion in Japanese of selections from classical Japanese literature: focus on translation skills. Students will have the opportunity to sample The Tale of Genji and The Pillow Book, among others in the original and to familiarize themselves with the classical language. Two periods with discussion section.
Course Website | More Information JPN 314 Contemporary Japanese Narrative
The many forms of contemporary Japanese writing - fiction, commentary, autobiography, humor, the immigrant narrative, and children's literature.We read carefully, translate, and discuss the 'knotty' problems of the Japanese language, including the disappearing subject, sentences that never seem to end, and cases of the untranslatable. Additional readings in English on issues of translation specific to Asian languages. Taught in Japanese.
Course Website | More Information JPN 350 Research or Individual Study
Course Website | More Information JPN 350H Research or Individual Study
Course Website | More Information JPN 351 Theaters of Japan (Seminar)
This course provides an in-depth study of Japanese traditional theater forms and performance theories. Students will be reading plays from the Noh, Kyogen comedies, Kabuki, and Bunraku (puppet theater) traditions. Videos of the plays for study will be viewed by the class. Comparisons will be made with Western and other Eastern theater forms where appropriate. The influence of classical theater on contemporary Japanese drama will also be examined. Taught in English.
Course Website | More Information JPN 352 Modern Japanese Writers (Seminar)
(in English)
Topic for 2004-05: Love and Liberation in Postwar Japanese Fiction. With the lifting of state censorship, postwar Japanese writers began to explore themes of romantic love, sexual liberation, familial dysfunction, and deep alienation in the aftermath of a draining war. In their celebration of the personal, however, Japanese writers also wrestle with questions of Japan's responsibility for the war, with Japanese identity, and with the social changes occurring around them. We embed literary texts in their historical and social contexts as we listen for the "hum of the times." At the same time, through close reading and analysis, we let literature speak for itself, assessing the aesthetic accomplishments of six writers from the late 1940s to the present. No Japanese language required.
Course Website | More Information JPN 353 Lady Murasaki and The Tale of Genji
(in English)
Shortly after 1000 AD in the imperial court of Japan, Murasaki Shikibu, a court lady of middle rank, completed what is arguably the first novel in the history of world literature, The Tale of Genji. Who was she? How did she come to write a novel of such surprising psychological subtlety? Who is the hero? Why is he still appealing a millennium later? Focusing on The Genji and Murasaki's diary, we examine the culture of the Heian court, Buddhist beliefs, the esthetic of mono no aware (a beauty evocative of longing), and the literature (poetry, prose, and ladies' diaries) of the court salons. Films, plays, animation, and modern novels modeled on The Genji will also be discussed in class. No Japanese language required.
Course Website | More Information JPN 360 Senior Thesis Research
Course Website | More Information JPN 370 Senior Thesis
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