| JAPN 101 |
| Intensive Elementary Japanese I |
| Designed to develop fundamental skill in both spoken and written modern Japanese. About 200 characters will be learned. Since all linguistic skills cannot be fully developed in 101 alone, stress will be placed on the acquisition of basic structures, which it will be the function of 102 to develop and reinforce. Students who wish to acquire significant proficiency should therefore plan to take both 101 and 102 in sequence. Four hours of classwork, plus one required drill hour. Students with prior background in Japanese must have the permission of the instructor. (Also offered under the Asian studies program.) (HUM) |
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1.50 units, Lecture
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| JAPN 102 |
| Intensive Elementary Japanese II |
Continuation of Japanese 101, with increased emphasis on conversational practice. An additional 120 characters will be learned. Students are expected to master most of the spoken patterns by the end of the semester. Four hours of class work, plus one required drill hour. (Also offered under the Asian studies program.) (HUM)
Prerequisite: Japanese 101 or equivalent. |
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1.50 units, Lecture
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| JAPN 201 |
| Intermediate Japanese I |
This course emphasizes the continued development of skill in spoken and written Japanese. Students will acquire more advanced vocabulary, patterns, and characters, practice speaking and listening through audio/video materials, and have more exposure to cultural content. To achieve higher proficiency, students should plan to take 201 and 202 in sequence.
(Also offered under the Asian Studies Program.) (HUM)
Prerequisite: Japanese 102 or equivalent. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JAPN 202 |
| Intermediate Japanese II |
Continuation of Japanese 201, with further emphasis on written and spoken development of the current idiom. Three hours of class work. (Also offered under the Asian studies program.) (GLB2)
Prerequisite: Japanese 201 or equivalent. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JAPN 203 |
| Kanji, Script, and Calligraphy |
This course offers a guide to the Japanese script system (kana and kanji) for intermediate-level students and beyond. We will mainly focus on kanji and consider their history, orthography, and analysis, but students will also consider kanji-learning strategies and commit to learning a particular set of kanji over the course of the semester. In a few classes we will study chirography and calligraphy by practicing them. Students are expected to review kanji they have learned while learning new kanji. The course work includes reading articles about Japanese aesthetics and calligraphy. The course is thus intended to support and supplement Intermediate and Advanced Japanese classes. As a supplementary course, this course does not fulfill any Japanese major or minor requirements. This course is repeatable for credit. (HUM)
Prerequisite: Japanese 101 and 102 |
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0.50 units, Seminar
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| JAPN 204 |
| Extensive Reading in Japanese |
This course will help students develop skills and habits that are necessary to read regularly and extensively, for content and enjoyment, in Japanese. Students will choose their own texts according to their language level. They are encouraged to read different genres (poems, picture books, fantasies, biographies, histories, comic books, etc.) and are required to increase the length and complexity of their reading materials. By the end of the semester, students are also expected to develop a reading plan that continues into the following winter or summer break. The course is thus intended to support and supplement Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced Japanese classes. As a supplementary course, this course does not fulfill any Japanese major or minor requirements and is repeatable for credit. (HUM)
Prerequisite: Japanese 201 or equivalent. |
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0.50 units, Seminar
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| JAPN 230 |
| Japanese Ukiyo-e and Manga |
| This course examines how Japanese manga was formed and developed from ukiyo-e paintings while receiving and giving influences from/to various art forms in foreign countries. Starting with the Japanese old scrolls and ukiyo-e paintings in the Edo period, students will learn about important Japanese ukiyo-e and manga artists and their works. Students are required to think about how manga, as a subcultural form, responds to the "mainstream" society of Japan and elsewhere and what messages they send to the reading public. While learning the history of manga, students will also analyze specific aspects of some Japanese manga works. Course work includes short responses, small quizzes, final projects, and occasional practice of drawing manga characters. (GLB1) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| JAPN 234 |
| Writing across Borders: Japanese American and Japanese Authors |
| This course introduces works by Japanese American authors and Japanese authors who write while living in foreign countries. Learning about the early formation of the Japan-U.S. relationship, we will move onto the dark period between the two countries before and during WWII to contextualize Japanese American works about internment camps. To learn how Japanese American literature has developed in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries, we will continue to read recent Japanese American works that are hinged upon the theme of cultural borders and differences. We will examine the dynamics of different cultural and linguistic experiences also in Japanese literary works by Yoko Tawada and Ian Hideo Levy. Readings also include works by John Okada, Hisaye Yamamoto, Julie Otsuka, Karen Tei Yamashita, and Ruth Ozeki. (GLB2) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| JAPN 236 |
| Japanese Crime Literature and Film |
| This course examines major works of Japanese crime literature and film from the works of Edogawa Rampo, known as the father of crime fiction in Japan, to those of contemporary writers to explore social and moral issues reflected in them. While Japanese writers and filmmakers of this genre readily acknowledge Western influences, the literary and cinematic explorations of crime in Japan have also developed ona trajectory of their own, producing works that are easily distinguishable from those of other cultures. The course will also consider the mixing of the crime genre with others, such as ghost and science fiction genres. Works studied in this course include those of Edogawa Rampo, Akira Kurosawa, Miyuki Miyabe, Seicho Matsumoto, and Kobo Abe, as well as yakuza movies. Readings and discussion in English. (GLB2) |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JAPN 238 |
| Japanese Animation Films and Short Stories |
| In this course, students will engage critically with the Japanese culture.
Through animation films directed by Miyazaki Hayao, Kon Satoshi,
and others, and modern Japanese short stories, we will examine the
ideas of "basic" and perhaps "typical" Japanese cultural aspects and
elements, as defined in Roger J. Davies and Osamu Ikeno's The
Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture.
Students are expected to think about these aspects and elements,
watching animation films and reading short stories. Most importantly,
however, students are required to analyze the Japanese works from a
critical perspective and to write "argumentative essays" on them. By
close-reading the texts (both films and literary works), students will
develop sensitivities toward what flows underneath cultural
representations The coursework includes multiple drafts of term papers. (GLB2) |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JAPN 280 |
| Japanese Calligraphy |
| In this course, students will learn the history and theories of shodo, or calligraphy, which Japan adopted from China and developed. They will also learn to practice the art form. Reading essays about the art and drawing various Chinese characters, or Japanese kanji, they will be expected to recognize the values of calligraphy works and learn how to appreciate them along with a few important concepts in shodo such as “nothingness” and “emptiness.” Students will be required to practice patiently and repeatedly important basic brushstrokes in order to draw a few of the kanji used in words. This course will also cover ink paintings occasionally, and, near the end of the semester, Japanese kana systems. No previous experience studying Japanese or Chinese characters is required. (GLB1) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| JAPN 301 |
| Advanced Japanese I |
This course aims at having students develop their communication skills in oral and written Japanese accurately, naturally, and fluently with increased emphasis on reading and writing. Students will expand and improve their Japanese skills acquired in the previous Japanese courses. Activities include discussing contents of dialogues and reading materials, doing role plays, writing essays on given topics, giving formal speeches in class, and having free-style conversations with TAs. Students will learn about 150 new kanji, as well as reviewing 317 kanji from prior Japanese courses. This course is also offered under the Asian Studies program. Prerequisite for the course: JAPN-202 or instructor approval. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: Japanese 202 or equivalent. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JAPN 302 |
| Advanced Japanese II |
This course is a continuation of JAPN 301 to have students develop their communication skills in oral and written Japanese accurately, naturally, and fluently with more increased emphasis on reading and writing toward the end of the semester. Activities include discussing contents of dialogues and reading materials, doing role plays, writing essays on given topics, giving formal speeches in class, and having free-style conversations with TAs. Students will also learn about 150 new kanji. In the second half of the semester, we will start reading one or two works of short stories from Japanese literature and translating some English poems/songs into Japanese. This course is also offered under the Asian Studies program. Prerequisite for the course: JAPN-301 or instructor approval. (GLB2)
Prerequisite: Japanese 301 or equivalent. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JAPN 311 |
| Advanced Readings in Japanese I |
This course aims at building students’ skills and speed in reading Japanese. It will draw materials from primary sources in various genres such as novels, poems, newspapers, essays, and instructional materials. Students will develop sentence analysis strategies as well as expand their knowledge of advanced vocabulary and kanji. An appropriate level of oral communication skill is required. (Since the content of this course varies from year to year to focus on the most contemporary materials, students may enroll for credit more than once.)(Also offered under the Asian studies program.) (GLB2)
Prerequisite: Japanese 202 or equivalent. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JAPN 312 |
| Advanced Spoken Japanese I |
This course aims to develop students’ listening and speaking skills in Japanese. The first half of the course focuses on basic tasks and social situations covered in Japanese 101 through Japanese 202, bringing students’ performance to a more natural and practical level. The latter half will introduce new conversational strategies and diverse topics and situations mostly drawn from current and culture-specific topics. (Since the content of this course varies from year to year to focus on the most contemporary materials, students may enroll for credit more than once.) (GLB2)
Prerequisite: Japanese 202 or equivalent. |
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1.00 units, Lecture
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| JAPN 399 |
| Independent Study |
| Submission of the special registration form, available in the Registrar’s Office, and the approval of the instructor and chairperson are required for enrollment. (HUM) |
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0.50 units min / 2.00 units max, Independent Study
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| JAPN 401 |
| Senior Seminar: Special Topics |
| This seminar is required of all seniors majoring in Japanese: Plan B (Japanese as primary language). Over the term, students will work collaboratively on the various papers they are writing by way of integrating exercises in their major, and the whole class will undertake a number of readings in common in order to provide informed criticism of one another’s papers. Depending on enrollment, the class may also spend part of the semester considering a special topic, author, or genre in Japanese studies. (WEB) |
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1.00 units, Seminar
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| JAPN 466 |
| Teaching Assistantship |
| Submission of the special registration form, available online, and the approval of the instructor are required for enrollment. Guidelines are available in the College Bulletin.
(0.5 - 1 course credit) |
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0.50 units min / 1.00 units max, Independent Study
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