Japanese
Assistant Professor PIZARRO ; Lecturer ONISHI
Minor Requirements
The Japanese Language Minor (6 units)
- A minimum of five (5) units of Japanese language at any level. One (1) relevant literature, linguistics, or culture course approved by the program.
Courses
Japanese
(Summer only 2024-25).
Introduction to Japanese language. Students will be introduced to basic spoken and written structures of 'standard' Japanese, the two Kana alphabets, and the development of basic aural/oral skills with attention to the cultural context. A video program supplements the course. Language laboratory required. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Conversation and limited reading and writing practice in Japanese language.
Conversation and limited reading and writing practice in Japanese language.
This course presents a critical appreciation of popular Japanese Icons (haiku poetry, tea ceremony, kabuki theatre, samurai, Shinto rituals, and rice) that scrutinizes how cultural practices and institutions have evolved and been adapted to symbolize Japan, both by Japanese and foreign observers. All readings, discussion, and writing will be in English. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
The course emphasizes the development of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills after the elementary level. Video materials supplement the course and place the language in a cultural context. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
The course builds on the language proficiency gained in 201. Increased use of the written and spoken language designed to build proficiency. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Advanced conversation, reading and writing practice in Japanese language.
Advanced conversation, reading and writing practice in Japanese language.
Meets the Language Requirement requirement. (Summer only 2024-25).
This course examines the way in which post-war Japanese literature reflects the transformation and enduring tensions within Japanese society. Topics include gender roles, the family, individuality, and dissension. Of central concern is the capacity of literature to reflect massive social and economic changes within contemporary Japan and to assess the assumptions of continuity, consensus, and conformity. Works by the following writers will be included: Ibuse Masuji, Yasuoka Shotaro, Hayashi Fumiko, Kawabata Yasunari, Abe Kobo, Enchi Fumiko, and Oe Kenzaburo. Novels and shorts stories will be supplemented with film and other readings. All readings, discussion, and writing will be in English. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course has been taught a number of times under a special topics rubric. Continued offering requires an official course designation. The course has been well received by students and has served a role at the college with its Writing Intensive designation. The Japanese Program in the Department of German, Russian, and East Asian Languages would like to make it a permanent addition to our offerings. This course will provide Japanese Language Minors and Asian Studies Majors and Minors with an additional opportunity to study an important aspect of Japanese literature and culture. We anticipate cross-listing this course with Asian Studies and Comparative Literature as in the previous times that it was offered. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Japanese women writers wrote the most heralded novels and poetic diaries in the classical literary canon; this celebration of women's literary contributions is an anomaly among world literatures. Yet for over five hundred years, women's literary voices were silenced before reemerging in the modern era, when a renaissance of 'women's literature' (joryu bungaku) captured popular imagination, even as it confronted critical disparagement. This course traces the rise, fall and return of writing by women and the influence of attitudes toward gender on what was written and read through a wide array of literary texts, historical documents, and cultural artifacts. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
This Course Explores how Japanese writers have dealt with issues of gender and sexuality from the Heian Period through the modern era. Drawing on literary sources such as The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu (11th c.), Five Women Who Loved Love by Ihara Saikaku (17th c.), and Kitchen by Yoshimoto Banana (20th c.), as well as films and manga. We will analyze how both male and female authors have portrayed gender and sexuality within an ever-changing landscape. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Intensive practice in reading, writing, speaking and comprehending modern Japanese. Taught as an extended format course over one semester or as one block course. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Intensive practice in reading, writing, speaking and comprehending modern Japanese. Taught as an extended format course over the Spring semester. Meets the Language Requirement requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Supervised projects in Japanese language, literature and culture for advanced students. Offered as a block course (1 unit) or semester extended format (1/2 unit).
Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Study of a selected topic in Japanese literature and culture. The course will cover subjects not listed in the regular curriculum and may vary from year to year. (Not offered 2024-25).
Application of Japanese language skills in the study of Japanese culture, including literature, history, or business. Taught as an extended format course over the full academic year. (Not offered 2024-25).