Results for JAPAN

An introduction to major monuments, themes, styles, and media of East and South Asian visual arts, in their social, literary, religious, and political contexts. Through close study of primary monuments of architectural, pictorial, and sculptural arts and related texts, this course will explore ritual and mortuary arts; Buddhist arts across Asia; narrative and landscape images; and courtly, urban, monastic, and studio environments for art from Bronze Age to modern eras.

What do old and young people share in common? With a focus on Japan, a country with a large long-living population, this seminar spotlights older people's lives as a reflectiion of culture and society, history, and current social and personal changes. Through discussion of multidisciplinary studies on age, analysis of narratives, and films, we will gain a closer understanding of Japanese society and the multiple meanings of growing up and older. Students will also create a short video/audio profile of an older individual, and we will explore cross-cultural comparisons. Held in Knight Bldg. Rm. 201.

Why are lovers in storybooks East and West always star-crossed? Why do love and death seem to go together? For every Romeo and Juliet, there are dozens of doomed lovers in the Asian literary repertoires, from Genji¿s string of embittered mistresses, to the Butterfly lovers in early modern China, to the voices of desire in Koryo love songs, to the devoted adolescent cousins in Dream of the Red Chamber, to the media stars of Korean romantic drama, now wildly popular throughout Asia. In this course, we explore how the love story has evolved over centuries of East Asian history, asking along the way what we can learn about Chinese, Japanese, and Korean views of family and community, gender and sexuality, truth and deception, trust and betrayal, ritual and emotion, and freedom and solidarity from canonical and non-canonical works in East Asian literatures.

Many of us have grown up eating "Asian" at home, with friends, on special occasions, or even without full awareness that Asian is what we were eating. This course situates the three major culinary traditions of East Asia--China, Japan, and Korea--in the histories and civilizations of the region, using food as an introduction to their rich repertoires of literature, art, language, philosophy, religion, and culture. It also situates these seemingly timeless gastronomies within local and global flows, social change, and ethical frameworks. Specifically, we will explore the traditional elements of Korean court food, and the transformation of this cuisine as a consequence of the Korean War and South Korea¿s subsequent globalizing economy; the intersection of traditional Japanese food with past and contemporary identities; and the evolution of Chinese cuisine that accompanies shifting attitudes about the environment, health, and well-being. Questions we will ask ourselves during the quarter include, what is "Asian" about Asian cuisine? How has the language of food changed? Is eating, and talking about eating, a gendered experience? How have changing views of the self and community shifted the conversation around the ethics and ecology of meat consumption?

This course considers the political, economic, social, cultural, and artistic effects of the introduction of new technologies and media to modern China and Japan. The methodology will integrate techniques gleaned from the disciplines of history and literary studies. Our cross-discipline exploration will encompass printed books and images, language reform, communication technology, serialized fiction and commercial journalism, propaganda and censorship, cinema, comics, animation and television, gaming, and the internet. Through examination of these topics we will investigate a wide range of issues including nationality, ethnic identity, class, revolution, cultural identification, gender, sexuality, literacy, colonialism, imperialism, consumerism, materialism, and globalism, to name just a few. Throughout the course we will be attentive not only to the ways that new technology and media are represented in cultural materials but also how they are materialized in these products through the acts of adaptation, translation, transliteration, and remediation.nnStudents will survey, collect, and synthesize archival materials, engage in media analysis, and undertake close readings to illuminate narrative strategies and other signifying effects. This work will in part be facilitated by the Massive Multiplayer Humanities pedagogical model, which involves flipped classrooms, faculty curated online archives, and student initiated group work.

This class introduces key literary texts from Japan's modern era (1868-present), locating these works in the larger political, social, and cultural trends of the period. Primary texts include: Futabatei Shimei's Floating Clouds, Higuchi Ichiyô's Child's Play, Natsume Sôseki's Kokoro, Kobayashi Takiji's Cannery Boat, Ôe Kenzaburô's The Catch, and Yoshimoto Banana's Kitchen. Examination of these literary works will be contextualized within larger political trends (e.g., the modernization program of the Meiji regime, the policies of Japan's wartime government, and postwar Japanese responses to the cold war), social developments (e.g., changing notions of social class, the women's rights movement, and the social effects of the postwar economic expansion), and cultural movements (e.g., literary reform movement of the 1890s, modernism of the 1920s and 30s, and postmodernism of the 1980s). The goal of the class is to use literary texts as a point of entry to understand the grand narrative of Japan's journey from its tentative re-entry into the international community in the 1850s, through the cataclysm of the Pacific War, to the remarkable prosperity of the bubble years in the 1980s.

Japanese sociocultural dynamics in industrial and corporate structures, negotiating styles, decision making, and crisis management. Practicum on Japan market strategies.

What is tyranny? When does political power cease to be legitimate and government become tyrannical? And what can individuals do in the face of tyranny? This course will explore East Asia's long political tradition through the problem of tyranny and its resistance. We will cover a wide range of material. We begin with how seminal political thinkers in East Asia, including Warring States philosophers such as Mencius and Han Feizi, understood the boundary between legitimate and illegitimate authority. We will also look at the strategies used by various political actors, including government officials, cultural or social elites, and common people, when they confronted what they perceived to be the unjust exercise political power, whether in the form of despotic monarchs, corrupt authorities, or general misrule. Our discussions will be wide-ranging. We will pay particular attention to how these historical examples from China, Korea, and Japan¿s past have resonated with modern and contemporary political discussions in contemporary East Asian societies.

This course will explore the various stories of gods, ghosts, demons, and monsters that appear throughout the Premodern period in Japan. The course will use the concept of the paranormal to explore the ways these beings are depicted as living alongside humanity and that humanity can easily and unknowingly enter into the realm of these beings.

Heian through Meiji periods with emphasis on relationships between the social and aesthetic. Works vary each year. This year's genre is the diary. Prerequisites: 246, 247, or equivalent.

Major paradigms of gender in Japanese performance traditions from ancient to modern times, covering Noh, Kabuki, Bunraku, and Takarazuka.

Approaches to the tale including 12th-century allegorical and modern feminist readings. Influence upon other works including poetry, Noh plays, short stories, modern novels, and comic book ( manga) retellings. Prerequisite for graduate students: JAPANLNG 129B or 103, or equivalent.

Open to senior honors students to write thesis.

Are there reasons why certain words, phrases, sentences and prosody are chosen by language speakers and writers in specific contexts? What linguistic and extra-linguistic elements give the hearers and readers the impression that certain utterances and passages are friendly, accusatory, officious, humorous, personal, formal, colloquial, etc.? This seminar provides an introduction to different theoretical and analytical approaches to studying language use in context (e.g. pragmatics, sociolinguistics, usage-based grammar, conversational analysis, critical discourse analysis) and an opportunity to critically analyze text and talk. Using the analytical tools acquired through readings and discussions, students will be able to analyze Japanese materials of their selection. The course is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with interests either (or both) in Japanese linguistics and literature.

EALC students writing a Senior Capstone Essay who wish to conduct research with their adviser may enroll in this course for 1 unit, for 1 quarter.

EALC juniors or seniors pursuing honors research should sign up for this course under their faculty adviser for research credit.

Asian Languages majors only. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: JAPANLNG 129B or 103, and consent of instructor.

Bibliographical and research methods. Major trends in literary and cultural theory and critical practice. May be repeated once for credit. Prerequisite: JAPANLNG 103 or 129B, or consent of instructor.

Strategies for reading academic writings in Japanese. Readings of scholarly papers and advanced materials in Japanese in students' research areas in the humanities and social sciences. Prerequisites: JAPANLNG 103, 129B, or equivalent; and consent of instructor.

This class introduces key literary texts from Japan's modern era (1868-present), locating these works in the larger political, social, and cultural trends of the period. Primary texts include: Futabatei Shimei's Floating Clouds, Higuchi Ichiyô's Child's Play, Natsume Sôseki's Kokoro, Kobayashi Takiji's Cannery Boat, Ôe Kenzaburô's The Catch, and Yoshimoto Banana's Kitchen. Examination of these literary works will be contextualized within larger political trends (e.g., the modernization program of the Meiji regime, the policies of Japan's wartime government, and postwar Japanese responses to the cold war), social developments (e.g., changing notions of social class, the women's rights movement, and the social effects of the postwar economic expansion), and cultural movements (e.g., literary reform movement of the 1890s, modernism of the 1920s and 30s, and postmodernism of the 1980s). The goal of the class is to use literary texts as a point of entry to understand the grand narrative of Japan's journey from its tentative re-entry into the international community in the 1850s, through the cataclysm of the Pacific War, to the remarkable prosperity of the bubble years in the 1980s.

Japanese sociocultural dynamics in industrial and corporate structures, negotiating styles, decision making, and crisis management. Practicum on Japan market strategies.

Translation Theory & Premodern Literature course

This course will explore the various stories of gods, ghosts, demons, and monsters that appear throughout the Premodern period in Japan. The course will use the concept of the paranormal to explore the ways these beings are depicted as living alongside humanity and that humanity can easily and unknowingly enter into the realm of these beings.

Heian through Meiji periods with emphasis on relationships between the social and aesthetic. Works vary each year. This year's genre is the diary. Prerequisites: 246, 247, or equivalent.

Major paradigms of gender in Japanese performance traditions from ancient to modern times, covering Noh, Kabuki, Bunraku, and Takarazuka.

Approaches to the tale including 12th-century allegorical and modern feminist readings. Influence upon other works including poetry, Noh plays, short stories, modern novels, and comic book ( manga) retellings. Prerequisite for graduate students: JAPANLNG 129B or 103, or equivalent.

The Japanese tea ceremony, the ultimate premodern multimedia phenomenon, integrates architecture, garden design, ceramics, painting, calligraphy, and other treasured objects into a choreographed ritual wherein host, objects, and guests perform designated roles on a tiny stage sometimes only six feet square.. In addition to its much-touted aesthetic and philosophical aspects, the practice of tea includes inevitable political and rhetorical dimensions. This course traces the evolution of tea practice from its inception within the milieu of courtier diversions, Zen monasteries, and warrior villas, through its various permutations into the 20th century, where it was manipulated by the emerging industrialist class for different-but ultimately similar-ends.

Are there reasons why certain words, phrases, sentences and prosody are chosen by language speakers and writers in specific contexts? What linguistic and extra-linguistic elements give the hearers and readers the impression that certain utterances and passages are friendly, accusatory, officious, humorous, personal, formal, colloquial, etc.? This seminar provides an introduction to different theoretical and analytical approaches to studying language use in context (e.g. pragmatics, sociolinguistics, usage-based grammar, conversational analysis, critical discourse analysis) and an opportunity to critically analyze text and talk. Using the analytical tools acquired through readings and discussions, students will be able to analyze Japanese materials of their selection. The course is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students with interests either (or both) in Japanese linguistics and literature.

A total of 5 units, taken in one or more quarters.nn (Staff)

Works and topics vary each year. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: fourth-year Japanese or consent of instructor.

For doctoral students in Japanese working on dissertations.