Courses

• CAS LJ 212: Fourth-Semester Japanese
  Elaboration and refinement of the fundamental skills introduced in CAS LJ 111, 112 with an introduction to reading and composition. Satisfactory completion of CAS LJ 212 fulfills the CAS language requirement.
• CAS LJ 250: Masterpieces of Japanese Literature (in English translation)
  An introduction to Japanese literary history. Topics include mythic beginnings, conceptions of nature and death, flowering of a court aesthetic, the writer as hermit-sage, the Tokugawa stage and its love suicides. Use of literary and visual materials. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
• CAS LJ 251: Modern Japanese Literature (in English translation)
  Introduction to modern Japanese literature. Naturalism and its critics, rise of the I-novel, Taishô aestheticism, proletarian literature, postwar and post-recession crises of cultural identity, cell phone novels. Works by Natsume Sôseki, Hayashi Fumiko, Tanizaki Jun'ichirô, Oe Kenzaburo, and Tsushima Yûko.
• CAS LJ 282: The Samurai in Myth and History
  Explores how samurai, Japan's (in)famous warrior class, defined themselves, and how others have portrayed them in literature, art, plays, film, and animation from ancient times to the present. Investigates why samurai ideals have become the most widely recognized Japanese "tradition." Also offered as CAS HI 370.
• CAS LJ 283: Modern Japanese Culture in Cinema (in English translation)
  Major modern Japanese films are interpreted in the light of Japanese culture. Film scripts and the important literary sources are read in English; films are shown with subtitles.
• CAS LJ 303: Third-Year Modern Japanese I
  Reading modern texts. Development of writing and speaking skills. Regular compositions required. Readings from newspapers and journals on contemporary social, political, economic, and cultural topics. Second semester (LJ 304): selections from fiction and nonfiction.
• CAS LJ 304: Third-Year Modern Japanese II
  Reading modern texts. Development of writing and speaking skills. Regular compositions required. Selections from fiction and nonfiction.
• CAS LJ 316: Classical Japanese
  Introduction to Classical Japanese, Japan's written language from the seventh until the twentieth century. Systematic study of grammar and lexicon enriched by original readings from major works of Japanese literature such as Man'yōshū, Pillow Book, Genji, and Heike monogatari, Hōjōki.
• CAS LJ 320: Conversational Japanese
  Advanced training to increase fluency in spoken Japanese with an emphasis on different levels of politeness in speech and cultural awareness. Role playing; vocabulary and expression building; and aural comprehension. Concurrent enrollment in a four-skills language course is encouraged.
• CAS LJ 350: Readings in Modern Japanese Fiction
  Readings in modern fiction and essays, from Akutagawa to Murakami, to deepen knowledge of Japanese language and encounter Japanese literature in its contemporary context. Readings and discussions in Japanese.
• CAS LJ 385: Intensive Kanji
  Supplements vocabulary and idiom for students beyond third-semester Japanese. Students learn to read and write the 1006 Kyôiku Kanji and recognize an additional 939 Jôyô Kanji in everyday Japanese. Concurrent enrollment in a four-skills language course encouraged.
• CAS LJ 386: Japanese Translation/Interpretation Workshop
  To enhance students' knowledge of Japanese by developing practical skills of translating and interpreting. Students practice translating many types of texts, using various dictionaries and internet sources, and interpreting in different situations.
• CAS LJ 401: Sr Indep Work
  
• CAS LJ 402: Sr Indep Work
  
• CAS LJ 403: Fourth-Year Japanese I
  Advanced-level reading and discussion in Japanese of selected articles from scholarly journals, essays, and short stories; compositions written in Japanese on topics from readings.
• CAS LJ 404: Fourth-Year Japanese II
  Advanced-level reading and discussion in Japanese of selected articles from scholarly journals, essays, and short stories; compositions written in Japanese on topics from readings.
• CAS LJ 410: The History of the Japanese Language
  Overview of major issues in the history of Japanese: genetic relationsips, changes in sound system, word and sentence structures, and pragmatics. Special attention to the process leading to the current writing system. Representative texts used to demonstrate different literary languages.
• CAS LJ 441: Japanese Press
  Development of skills in formal Japanese through reading of periodicals. Emphasis on formats, styles, and idioms used in journalism. Vocabulary building. Television news programs and documentaries viewed for improvment of aural comprehension. Assignments geared to individual needs and interests.
• CAS LJ 445: Readings in Japanese Civilization
  Uses the Japanese language to learn about history, society, art, politics, and current issues from Japanese perspectives. Critical engagement with topics in Japanese culture through multiple forms of communication, including reading, writing, discussion, and video. Conducted in Japanese.
• CAS LJ 451: Topics in Japanese Literature
  Two topics are offered Fall 2013. Students may take one or both for credit. Section A1: Haruki Murakami and His Sources. Elements of postmodernism and intertextuality in the work of the best-selling Japanese writer. Readings in Murakami and his literary, cultural, and cinematic influences: Poe, Conrad, Fitzgerald, Chandler, Vonnegut, Carver, Irving, and others. Readings in English. Section B1: Edo Popular Culture: Haiku, Kabuki, Manga from the 1600s to the 1800s. A survey of early modern Japanese literature exploring the period's major genres of poetry, prose, and drama, which include haiku, comic verse, autobiography, illustrated fiction, kabuki, and puppet theater. Particular attention is given to the visual aspects of specific works.

Back to full list of College of Arts & Sciences