[German, Russian, and East Asian Languages and Literature]

As we enter the twenty-first century, Japanese culture and language have gained increasing visibility across the globe. Japanese is also the medium of an enduring, complex, and constantly developing culture to which the rest of the world has repeatedly turned for insight and understanding. The major in Japanese offers an opportunity for an in-depth and focused study of Japanese language and culture. The major places emphasis on the student's acquisition of oral and written language proficiency as well as on the development of cultural awareness and competency. The department strongly recommends that majors spend their junior year at the Associated Kyoto Program or some other departmentally recognized two-semester study-abroad program in Japan. Students wishing to pursue a broadly based, interdisciplinary study of East Asia should also consult the listings for the East Asian studies major in the Program in Asian Studies.

Cross-listed Courses. Note that unless otherwise specified, when a department/program references a course or unit in the department/program, it includes courses and units cross-listed with the department/program.

Major Requirements. The major consists of a minimum of twelve courses, which must include: a) Japanese 101-102, 201-202, 301-302, or the equivalent; b) Japanese 125; c) two courses/units from the following: First-Year Seminar 247 or another first-year seminar on Japan; Japanese 210, 255, 290, s26, or another Short Term unit on Japan, Chinese s30, or Asian Studies 280; d) one 300-level seminar on Japan; e) Japanese 401; and f) a senior thesis project, Japanese 457 or 458, which may be completed independently or, for students who wish to write in Japanese, in conduction with Japanese 402 (with thesis components). Students are expected to utilize some source materials in Japanese when conducting research for the thesis. Note that students may petition the department to have courses taken in their study-abroad program (including the Bates Fall Semester Abroad) applied toward the fulfillment of requirements a) and c).

Pass/Fail Grading Option. Pass/fail grading may be elected for courses applied toward the major or secondary concentration.

Courses

JPN 101-102. Beginning Japanese I and II. An introduction to the basics of spoken and written Japanese as a foundation for advanced study and proficiency in the language. Fundamental patterns of grammar and syntax are introduced together with a practical, functional vocabulary. Mastery of the katakana and hiragana syllabaries, as well as approximately 100 written characters, introduce students to the beauty of written Japanese. Normally offered every year. M. Wender, S. Strong.

AS/JA 125. Japanese Literature and Society. This course examines major trends in Japanese literature and society from its beginnings to the present. Are there features of Japanese culture that continue unchanging through time? How have ideas of what is artistically valuable been linked with ideas of what is Japanese? How valid are the claims that Japanese culture is intimately involved with the appreciation of nature and the seasons? Students examine visual, literary, and historical texts, including classical narratives and painting scrolls of aristocratic culture, early modern plays and prints of samurai and geisha, and recent stories and films exploring questions of individual and national identity. All readings are in English. Offered with varying frequency. M. Wender, S. Strong.

AS/JA 130. Japanese Film. This course introduces students to Japanese cinema and criticism. They consider the aesthetic style and narrative themes of
films from the silent era to the present day, focusing on directors such as Ozu Yasujiro, Kurosawa Akira, and Oshima Nagisa. They explore such questions as whether there is a distinctive Japanese film style, how filmic qualities such
as camera movement relate to story, and how the films relate to their particular historical and cultural moment. In addition to viewing movies, students read Japanese film history and criticism. No prior familiarity with Japan is required. Normally offered every other year. M. Wender. New course beginning Winter 2005.

JPN 201-202. Intermediate Japanese I and II. A continuation of Japanese 102, the course stresses the acquisition of new and more complex spoken patterns, vocabulary building, and increasing knowledge of cultural context through use of calligraphy, role play, video, and varied reading materials. One hundred fifty Chinese characters are introduced. A range of oral as well as written projects and exercises provide a realistic context for language use. Prerequisite(s): Japanese 102. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. K. Ofuji.

JPN 208. Modern Japanese Literature: Texts and Contexts. This course is an introduction to key texts and ideas of Japanese literature from Meiji Ishin (1868) to the present. A major premise of the course is that understanding literary works requires consideration of two different sorts of contexts: that of their production and that of their consumption. Topics for discussion include: How is the development of a unified written language related to the construction of the modern nation? Can autobiographical fiction have social or political significance? What might it mean to read Japanese literature in an American classroom? Readings include literary, historical, and critical works. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every other year. M. Wender.

AS/JA 210. Heterogeneous Japan. Scholars of Japan have long portrayed Japan as culturally homogenous. In recent years, however, people in and outside the academy have begun to challenge this assumption. In this course, students examine autobiography, fiction, and films that foreground Japan's ethnic, regional, and socioeconomic diversity. Readings also may include historical and analytical essays and theoretical works on the relationship of modernity, national identity, and narrative. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Not open to students who have received credit for Asian Studies 210 or Japanese 210. Offered with varying frequency. M. Wender.

JPN 240. Japanese Literature: A Survey. This course examines major trends in the history of Japanese literature from its beginnings up to the Tokugawa period. Particular attention is paid to thematic and cultural issues such as class, gender, and the role of women as producers of literary culture. Through selected readings and discussion, students consider a range of genres including popular tales, poetry collections, diaries, narrative fiction, and drama. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every other year. S. Strong.

JA/WS 255. Modern Japanese Women Writers. In its beginnings, Japanese literature was considered a female art: the greatest writers of the classical period were women, while men at times assumed a female persona in order to write. How do Japanese women writers of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries portray the complexities of today's world? How do they negotiate the gendered institutions of the society in which they live? What values do they assign to being a woman, to being Japanese? What significance does the female canon hold for them as modern and postmodern writers? Students consider issues such as family, power, gender roles, selfhood, and the female body in reading a range of novels, short stories, and poems. Authors may include Enchi and Fumiko, Ohba Minako, Kurahashi Yumiko, Tsushima Yuko, Tawara Machi, Yamada Eimi, and Yoshimoto Banana. Readings and discussion are in English. Open to first-year students. Not open to students who have received credit for Japanese 250. Normally offered every other year. S. Strong.

ES/JA 290. Nature in East Asian Literature. How have poets and other writers in Japan and China portrayed, valued, and responded to the myriad phenomena that Western tradition calls "nature"? What ideas have they used to construct the relationship between human beings and the environment? Do their views offer the modern world a possible antidote to its environmental ills? Are these views too deeply conditioned by Asian traditions to be understood in the West? This course looks closely at several works from Japanese and Chinese traditions whose authors pay particular attention to the relationship between the self and the physical world the self observes. Specific writers may include Hitomaro, Saigyô, Kamo no Chomei, Bashô, Li Po, and Wang Wei. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Not open to students who have received credit for Environmental Studies 290 or Japanese 290. Normally offered every other year. S. Strong.

JPN 301-302. Intermediate Japanese III and IV. The course completes the introduction of essential Japanese syntactic forms and sentence patterns. Students continue development of oral skills, particularly focusing on informal everyday speech, while emphasis is placed on increased competence in the written language. Two hundred new characters are introduced. Prerequisite(s): Japanese 202. Normally offered every year. S. Strong, K. Ofuji.

JPN 310. The Waylaying of the Warrior: The Myth of the Samurai in Japanese Culture. The samurai, the sword-wielding warrior with his strict bushido code of honor, is one of the most enduring images of Japan, both in the West and among the Japanese themselves. This course first acquaints students with the decidedly less glamorous reality of the samurai. Students then explore the myths surrounding the warrior through medieval war tales, kabuki play scripts, and modern novels. Discussions focus on the shifting meanings invested in the image of the samurai by different writers and audiences over the centuries. Conducted in English. Recommended background: at least one course in Japanese culture, history, or language. Enrollment limited to 15. Normally offered every other year. G. Walley. New course beginning Fall 2004.

ES/JA 320. Haiku and Nature in Japan. The concise, seventeen-syllable verse form known today as haiku rose to prominence in the popular culture of seventeenth-century Japan. With its emphasis on the experience of the present moment and its use of clear natural imagery, haiku is seen by many as defining the way generations of Japanese have perceived and related to the natural world. This seminar examines the poetics of haiku and linked verse (renku) and looks at the expression of their aesthetics in recent Japanese literature and culture from architecture to the novel to Zen. The final section of the seminar investigates the apparent inability of this nature aesthetic to influence Japanese government policy on the environment. Recommended background: courses in Japanese or English literature, or human culture and the environment. Conducted in English. Normally offered every other year. S. Strong.

JPN 345. The Supernatural and the Grotesque: Along the Continuum of Life and Death. This course examines how Japanese writers and some English and American writers from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries use the supernatural and the grotesque as a means of addressing sociohistorical conditions and literary issues. Representations of a transcendental world can be seen as an expression of contemporary fears and desires regarding women and the encroachment of the "Other." Students consider different theoretical approaches to the nature and function of such literature in drama, the novel, and the short story. The readings are in English. Offered with varying frequency. Staff.

JPN 360. Independent Study. Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study per semester. Normally offered every semester. Staff.

JPN 401. Advanced Japanese I. Through the discussion and study of contemporary literary texts and other journalistic modes, the course seeks to utilize, develop, and integrate skills acquired in the earlier stages of language learning. Particular emphasis is placed on reading and writing, and translation. Through class presentations and discussion students further develop oral skills and expand their understanding of Japanese culture. Prerequisite(s): Japanese 302. Normally offered every year. M. Wender.

JPN 402. Advanced Japanese II. This course covers materials in Japanese such as newspaper articles, other media material, and short stories. Through presentations and discussions students utilize, develop, and integrate spoken skills acquired in the earlier stages of language learning. Written skills are also emphasized; normally students complete a final research project on a topic of their choice. Students taking this course in conjunction with the thesis should also register for Japanese 458. Prerequisite(s): Japanese 401. Normally offered every year. K. Ofuji.

JPN 457, 458. Senior Thesis. An extended research or translation project on a topic in Japanese literature, culture, or language utilizing some source materials in Japanese. Qualified students may choose to write the thesis in Japanese. Before registering for either 457 or 458, the student should consult with his or her advisor and submit a concise description of the proposed project as well as a tentative bibliography. Students register for Japanese 457 in the fall semester and for Japanese 458 in the winter semester, unless the department gives approval for a two-semester project. Majors writing an honors thesis register for Japanese 457 and 458. Normally offered every year. Staff.

Short Term Units

JA/WS s21. Geisha Fantasy: Representations of an Icon. This course examines the stereotypes of the cultural category of geisha in film, literature, visual culture, and the performing arts. Students locate the discourse surrounding the geisha in both Japan and the United States, which leads to themes of "orientalism" (differentiating self and other in a way that hierarchizes the self), "self-orientalism," and nihonjinron (doctrine of a Japanese essence). Students focus on historical contexts in which the category of geisha was formed and developed largely as a projection of male desire and male fantasy, and explore the homogenizing and dichotomizing of racial and sexual identities in the construction of the geisha. Conducted in English. Offered with varying frequency. Staff.

JPN s25. Haiku Poetry. Matsuo Bashô (1644-1694) is one of Japan's most celebrated poets. As a haikai master he led group compositions in linked verse (renga), in addition to writing the seventeen-syllable hokku for which he is best known. His travel diaries represent a landmark in the history of Japanese literature. This unit explores the background and nature of the haikai genre, with particular attention to Bashô's outstanding achievement. Students of Japanese language are encouraged to do some guided reading in the original. Recommended background: Japanese 240 and History 172. Conducted in English. Enrollment limited to 25. Normally offered every other year. S. Strong.

JPN s26. Japanese Popular Culture. Texts include theoretical writings on consumer culture and the mass media; anthropological writings on Japanese culture; and a number of primary texts, including novels, comics, films, and television animation. Discussion topics include sexuality and violence in animation, ethnic consciousness in the fashion industry, and Japan's global technological prowess and science fiction. Conducted in English. Enrollment limited to 30. Offered with varying frequency. M. Wender.

JPN s27. Hiroshima And Other Disasters. The technologies of the industrial and postindustrial age have made possible a scale of destruction that seems impossible for human beings either to grasp or perhaps even to survive. Japan, as the only nation to have experienced attack by atomic weapons, and as a site of monumental environmental disasters in the twentieth century, raises urgent questions and issues regarding the human experience of human-wrought calamity. What is the role of art, literature, film, and journalism in expressing the “inexpressible" and possibly preventing its reoccurrence? This unit examines Japanese responses to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It also investigates the mercury poisonings at Minamata and other environmental disasters in Japan. Enrollment limited to 30. Offered with varying frequency. S. Strong. New unit beginning Short Term 2004.

JPN s50. Independent Study. Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term. Normally offered every year. Staff.

[German, Russian, and East Asian Languages and Literature]

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Last Modified: 7/16/04 by mkm