Results for JAPAN

This course explores the values and questions posed in the formative period of East Asian civilizations. Notions of a Dao ("Way") are common to Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, but those systems of thought have radically different ideas about what that Dao is and how it might be realized in society and an individual's life. These systems of thought appeared first in China, and eventually spread to Korea and Japan. Each culture developed its own ways of reconciling the competing systems, but in each case the comprehensive structure of values and human ideals differs significantly from those that appeared elsewhere in the ancient world. The course examines East Asian ideas about self-cultivation, harmonious society, rulership, and the relation between human and nature with a view toward expanding our understanding of these issues in human history, and highlighting their legacies in Asian civilizations today. The course features selective readings in classics of Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist texts that present the foundational tenets of Asian thought. N. B. This is the first of three courses in the Humanities Core, East Asian track. These courses show how history and ideas shape our world and future. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to the life of the mind.

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. N.B. This is the second of three courses in the East Asian track. These courses offer an unparalleled opportunity to study East Asian history and culture, past and present. Take all three to experience a year-long intellectual community dedicated to exploring how ideas have shaped our world and future.

This course considers the political, economic, social, cultural, and artistic effects of the introduction of new technologies and media to modern Japan. Our exploration will encompass printed books and images, language reform, communication technology, serialized fiction and commercial journalism, propaganda and censorship, cinema, comics, animation and television. Through examination of these topics we will investigate a wide range of issues including nationality, ethnic identity, class, cultural identification, gender, sexuality, literacy, 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. No knowledge of Japanese is necessary. All materials are in English. This class fulfills the Writing & Rhetoric 2 requirement. Prerequisite: PWR 1.

How should we live? This course explores ethical pathways in European, Islamic, and East Asian traditions: mysticism and rationality, passion and duty, this and other worldly, ambition and peace of mind. They all seem to be pairs of opposites, but as we'll see, some important historical figures managed to follow two or more of them at once. We will read works by successful thinkers, travelers, poets, lovers, and bureaucrats written between 800 and 1900 C.E. We will ask ourselves whether we agree with their choices and judgments about what is a life well lived.

An exploration of the visual arts of East and South Asia from ancient to modern times, in their social, religious, literary and political contexts. Analysis of major monuments of painting, sculpture and architecture will be organized around themes that include ritual and funerary arts, Buddhist art and architecture across Asia, landscape and narrative painting, culture and authority in court arts, and urban arts in the early modern world.

Asian screen culture, ranging from cinema to online games, has (re)shaped the global and national/regional imaginings of Asia. The Post-Cold War intensification of intra-Asian interactions has precipitated the rise of a Pan-Asian regional identity wherein the nation-state is not yet obsolete. What role does screen culture plays in the border-crossing interplay among languages, ideologies, aesthetics, and affect? How does the converging media of screen culture capture local/global desires and propel the history of transformation of sign systems from the written words to visual moving images in a digital time? How do we understand the aesthetic, storytelling, and politics of Asian screen cultures vis-à-vis its historical and social context? While exploring these transnational and transdisciplinary questions, this course will deal with topical issues of Pan-Asian identity, (trans)nationalism, (un)translatability, commodity fetishism, locality and globality, technophobia, and politics of gender. Students will learn how to think and write about screen cultures of East Asia in particular and of our world of screens in general.

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?

Translation lies at the heart of all intercultural exchange. This course introduces students to the specific ways in which translation has shaped the image of Japan in the West, the image of the West in Japan, and Japan's self-image in the modern period. What texts and concepts were translated by each side, how, and to what effect? No prior knowledge of Japanese language necessary.

Seminal works of translation theory and scholarship from a wide array of disciplinary, regional, linguistic, and historical perspectives. Readings are in English, but students must have at least two years of training or the equivalent in another language, or permission from the instructor. (Important note: Students who wish to count this course toward requirements in the department of East Asian Languages and Cultures must have permission from their EALC advisor.)

From the culturally distinct urban centers of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka to the sharp contrasts between the southernmost and northernmost parts of Japan, modern Japanese literature and film present rich characterizations of place that have shaped Japanese identities at the national, regional, and local levels. This course focuses attention on how these settings operate in key works of literature and film, with an eye toward developing students' understanding of diversity within modern Japan. FOR UNDERGRADS: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit

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.

"The Nature of Knowledge" explores the intersections of science and humanities East Asia. It covers a broad geographic area (China, Japan, and Korea) along a long temporal space (14th century - present) to investigate how historical notions about the natural world, the human body, and social order defied, informed, and constructed our current categories of science and humanities. The course will make use of medical, geographic, and cosmological treatises from premodern East Asia, portrayals and uses of science in modern literature, film, and media, as well as theoretical and historical essays on the relationships between literature, science, and society.nnAs part of its exploration of science and the humanities in conjunction, the course addresses how understandings of nature are mediated through techniques of narrative, rhetoric, visualization, and demonstration. In the meantime, it also examines how the emergence of modern disciplinary "science" influenced the development of literary language, tropes, and techniques of subject development. This class will expose the ways that science has been mobilized for various ideological projects and to serve different interests, and will produce insights into contemporary debates about the sciences and humanities.

This course presents a broad survey of classical Japanese literature in English translation, with particular emphasis on prose fiction and poetry. We will make use of multiple, complementary modes of literary criticism, beginning with historicism and formalism, which reflect different assumptions and interpretive priorities. The approach is integrative, with attention paid throughout to the intersections between literature, social and institutional history, and religion. Key questions to be explored include the following: How were the major works of classical Japanese literature understood by readers during the medieval and early-modern periods? How did the current canon of classical Japanese literature arise, and what historical forces shaped its development? How might modern modes of literary criticism help us better approach premodern Japanese literature, and what are their limitations?

Readings from Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, and early Edo periods with focus on grammar and reading comprehension. Prerequisite: JAPANLNG 129B or 103, or equivalent.

A mixture of lecture and discussion, this course presents a chronological introduction to some of the defining monuments in the history of Japanese visual culture from prehistory to the mid-19th century. This introductory class presumes no prior knowledge of art history or of Japan. We will emphasize certain overarching themes like religious life; notions of decorum appropriate to various classes (court, warrior, and commoner); the relationship between and among the arts, such as the visual and the verbal, or the symphonic assemblage arts as seen in the tea ceremony; pervasive cultural tropes like nostalgia, seasonality, or the sense of place; and broader issues such as censorship, patronage, gender issues, and the encounters between Japanese and foreign cultures.

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.

Open to senior honors students to write thesis.

This course provides students with a broad overview of second language acquisition (SLA) research and introduces recent SLA studies on Japanese as a second language (L2). It covers six topics: (1) the evolution of the field, (2) approaches to understanding learner language, (3) current state of knowledge of L2 developmental patterns, (4) theories of L2 learning, (5) factors that affect SLA, and (6) instructed SLA. By reading and discussing exemplary SLA studies on L2 Japanese as well as seminal papers on these topics, students will develop abilities to analyze learner language from multiple perspectives, critically read research reports, and consider implications for L2 teaching.

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.

Asian screen culture, ranging from cinema to online games, has (re)shaped the global and national/regional imaginings of Asia. The Post-Cold War intensification of intra-Asian interactions has precipitated the rise of a Pan-Asian regional identity wherein the nation-state is not yet obsolete. What role does screen culture plays in the border-crossing interplay among languages, ideologies, aesthetics, and affect? How does the converging media of screen culture capture local/global desires and propel the history of transformation of sign systems from the written words to visual moving images in a digital time? How do we understand the aesthetic, storytelling, and politics of Asian screen cultures vis-à-vis its historical and social context? While exploring these transnational and transdisciplinary questions, this course will deal with topical issues of Pan-Asian identity, (trans)nationalism, (un)translatability, commodity fetishism, locality and globality, technophobia, and politics of gender. Students will learn how to think and write about screen cultures of East Asia in particular and of our world of screens in general.

Translation lies at the heart of all intercultural exchange. This course introduces students to the specific ways in which translation has shaped the image of Japan in the West, the image of the West in Japan, and Japan's self-image in the modern period. What texts and concepts were translated by each side, how, and to what effect? No prior knowledge of Japanese language necessary.

Seminal works of translation theory and scholarship from a wide array of disciplinary, regional, linguistic, and historical perspectives. Readings are in English, but students must have at least two years of training or the equivalent in another language, or permission from the instructor. (Important note: Students who wish to count this course toward requirements in the department of East Asian Languages and Cultures must have permission from their EALC advisor.)

From the culturally distinct urban centers of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka to the sharp contrasts between the southernmost and northernmost parts of Japan, modern Japanese literature and film present rich characterizations of place that have shaped Japanese identities at the national, regional, and local levels. This course focuses attention on how these settings operate in key works of literature and film, with an eye toward developing students' understanding of diversity within modern Japan. FOR UNDERGRADS: This course must be taken for a minimum of 3 units and a letter grade to be eligible for Ways credit

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.

This course explores the postwar Japanese short story. We will read representative works by major authors, such as Ishikawa Jun, Hayashi Fumiko, Abe Kobe and Murakami Haruki. Attention will be devoted to both accurate reading of the Japanese prose and more general discussion of the literary features of the texts.

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

"The Nature of Knowledge" explores the intersections of science and humanities East Asia. It covers a broad geographic area (China, Japan, and Korea) along a long temporal space (14th century - present) to investigate how historical notions about the natural world, the human body, and social order defied, informed, and constructed our current categories of science and humanities. The course will make use of medical, geographic, and cosmological treatises from premodern East Asia, portrayals and uses of science in modern literature, film, and media, as well as theoretical and historical essays on the relationships between literature, science, and society.nnAs part of its exploration of science and the humanities in conjunction, the course addresses how understandings of nature are mediated through techniques of narrative, rhetoric, visualization, and demonstration. In the meantime, it also examines how the emergence of modern disciplinary "science" influenced the development of literary language, tropes, and techniques of subject development. This class will expose the ways that science has been mobilized for various ideological projects and to serve different interests, and will produce insights into contemporary debates about the sciences and humanities.

This course presents a broad survey of classical Japanese literature in English translation, with particular emphasis on prose fiction and poetry. We will make use of multiple, complementary modes of literary criticism, beginning with historicism and formalism, which reflect different assumptions and interpretive priorities. The approach is integrative, with attention paid throughout to the intersections between literature, social and institutional history, and religion. Key questions to be explored include the following: How were the major works of classical Japanese literature understood by readers during the medieval and early-modern periods? How did the current canon of classical Japanese literature arise, and what historical forces shaped its development? How might modern modes of literary criticism help us better approach premodern Japanese literature, and what are their limitations?

Readings from Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, and early Edo periods with focus on grammar and reading comprehension. Prerequisite: JAPANLNG 129B or 103, or equivalent.

Edo and Meiji periods with focus on grammar and reading comprehension. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: 246 or equivalent.

This proseminar introduces Japanese linguistics research to graduate students and advanced undergraduate students. Through readings and discussions, students will familiarize themselves with materials and references in both English and Japanese in preparation for conducting research effectively in their own areas of interest in Japanese linguistics. They learn the organization and presentation of research projects and conduct a pilot project in their selected area of interest. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: JAPANLNG 103 or consent of instructor.

A mixture of lecture and discussion, this course presents a chronological introduction to some of the defining monuments in the history of Japanese visual culture from prehistory to the mid-19th century. This introductory class presumes no prior knowledge of art history or of Japan. We will emphasize certain overarching themes like religious life; notions of decorum appropriate to various classes (court, warrior, and commoner); the relationship between and among the arts, such as the visual and the verbal, or the symphonic assemblage arts as seen in the tea ceremony; pervasive cultural tropes like nostalgia, seasonality, or the sense of place; and broader issues such as censorship, patronage, gender issues, and the encounters between Japanese and foreign cultures.

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.

This course provides students with a broad overview of second language acquisition (SLA) research and introduces recent SLA studies on Japanese as a second language (L2). It covers six topics: (1) the evolution of the field, (2) approaches to understanding learner language, (3) current state of knowledge of L2 developmental patterns, (4) theories of L2 learning, (5) factors that affect SLA, and (6) instructed SLA. By reading and discussing exemplary SLA studies on L2 Japanese as well as seminal papers on these topics, students will develop abilities to analyze learner language from multiple perspectives, critically read research reports, and consider implications for L2 teaching.

Theory and cultural status of translation in modern Japanese and English. Comparative analysis of practical translation strategies. Final project is a literary translation of publishable quality. Prerequisite: fourth-year Japanese or consent of instructor.

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

This graduate seminar examines the major texts, genres, and conceptual developments in the field of premodern Japanese literary studies. It combines three approaches: 1) Reading seminar covering texts in the original Japanese in annotated print editions. 2) Review of current scholarly works in English and Japanese. 3) Methodology and bibliography workshop on digital and analog tools available to the researcher. On a rotating basis we will focus on the Ancient and Classical periods, the Medieval period, and the Early Modern period.

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.