Course descriptions for Japanese

Introduces the background knowledge and basic concepts of language and culture for Japanese. Includes movies, guest speakers, and field trips. Involves mastering the Japanese phonetic alphabets and basic Kanji. Covers word processing and Internet access in Japanese. Provides Japanese-oriented career information. (Offered only as interest warrants.)

This is a beginning Japanese course for students with no prior Japanese. Students will learn basic communication and begin to use Japanese interpersonally and interpretively to communicate and present on familiar topics. Students will learn reading and writing systems including hiragana, katakana and basic kanji. Students will gain appreciation of Japanese customs, practices, products, and perspectives, and be able to compare them with their own culture. Highly interactive with technology enhanced content. (Offered every semester) (Credit/NoCredit Available)

This is a continuation of JAPN101. Students will continue to learn to use Japanese interpersonally and interpretively to communicate and present on familiar topics in daily situations. Students will learn basic communication strategies and demonstrate an increased appreciation of Japanese customs, practices, products, and perspectives, and are able to compare them with their own. Highly interactive with technology enhanced content. (Offered every semester) (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course focuses on reading and writing in Japanese and is a companion course for JAPN 101 and 102. (Offered fall semester.)

This course focuses on reading and writing in Japanese and companion course for JAPN 101 and 102. (Offered spring semester.)

This course focuses on interpersonal and interpretive communication in daily situations at beginning level and is a companion course for JAPN 101 and 102. (Offered fall semester.)

This course focuses on interpersonal and interpretive communication in daily situations at beginning level and is a companion course for JAPN 101 and 102. (Offered spring semester.)

Studies a particular topic relative to the Japanese language or culture. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Individualizes student placement for field study as related to Japanese. Offered as interest warrants.

Allows lower-division students to independently study a particular aspect of Japanese culture and language. A written proposal for the study/research must be approved in advance by the sponsoring faculty member and the program chair. Number of credits depends on the nature of the student's academic goals and the consent of the faculty advisor.

This is a continuation of JAPN102. Students will continue to develop proficiency in intermediate Japanese. Students will communicate interpersonally and interpretively and present on familiar topics in daily situations. Students will further develop communication strategies and demonstrate an increased appreciation of Japanese customs, practices, products, and perspectives, and are able to compare them with their own. Highly interactive with technology enhanced content. (Offered every semester) (Credit/No Credit Available)

This is a continuation of JAPN201. Students will continue to develop proficiency in intermediate Japanese. Students will communicate interpersonally and interpretively and present on familiar topics in daily situations. Students will further develop communication strategies and demonstrate an increased appreciation of Japanese customs, practices, products, and perspectives, and be able to compare them with their own. Highly interactive with technology enhanced content. (Offered every semester) (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course focuses on reading and writing in Japanese and is a companion course for JAPN201 and 202. (Offered in fall)

This course focuses on reading and writing in Japanese and is a companion course for JAPN201 and 202. (Offered in spring)

This course introduces various aspects of Japanese culture, including history, geography, religion, government, politics, customs and traditions. Taught in English. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course explores the four periods of the samurai tradition to survey changing roles and philosophy behind its existence. The survey will analyze contemporary images/stereotypes of the samurai. The course employs ancient war tales, historical documents and paintings, maps, articles, literary works, different genres of samurai films, and videos to fully examine one of the most popular Japanese cultural icons. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course uses Japanese manga cartoons and Anime, animated movies, as modern mirrors that reflect the Japanese experience of rapid economic and social transformation over the past 150 years. Starting with the examination of ancient Japanese style of visual expression, we will trace how Manga and Anime sketch out a parallel world that is linked both historically and culturally to the imagined community of the Japanese nation-state. Taught in English. (Credit/No Credit Available)

A survey of historical and modern Japanese society using art works, photography, woodblock prints, film, maps, and other visual documents. Students learn to extract information from images as part of a visual analysis. Students will compare what they see of Japan with other more familiar environments. Taught in English. (Credit/ No Credit Available).

This course examines contemporary media culture and products as a conceptual lens to focus on Japanese pop culture and soft power in the 21st Century. Manga, Anime, Cinema, literature, performance art, music, and fine arts will all be surveyed with an eye to understanding what exactly is cool and different about Japanese creative work and whether these kinds of cultural exports could become the foundation of a new post-industrial Japanese economy. Taught in English. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course focuses on interpersonal and interpretive communication in daily situations at intermediate level and is a companion course for JAPN 201 and 300. (Offered in fall)

This course focuses on interpersonal and interpretive communication in daily situations at intermediate level and is a companion course for JAPN 201 and 300. (Offered in spring)

Studies a particular topic in Japanese. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. (Offered only as interest warrants.) (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Individualizes student placement for field study as related to Japanese. Offered as interest warrants.

Student and faculty member select topic of study and number of credits. (Offered as interest warrants.)

This course is a bridge course from intermediate to advanced Japanese language. It continues development of proficiency in interpersonal, interpretive and presentational modes of communication in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Students develop communication strategies and cultural knowledge to prepare for advanced courses. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course further continues development of advanced proficiency in interpersonal, interpretive and presentational modes of communication in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Students develop communication strategies and cultural knowledge through content-based instruction. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course gives students opportunity to deepen their knowledge of Japanese language and culture through their community service and to develop communication skills through discussions, reflection essays and presentations. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

This course further develops advanced Japanese proficiency through an understanding of Japanese history as a dynamic, interrelated system and employs a variety of processes to identify, analyze and evaluate cultural themes, values and ideas. Students will demonstrate ability to accurately comprehend ideas across a range of historical content. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course develops functional use of Japanese language for various types of situations and events that occur in the daily business environment. The types of situations include formal introductions, basic business rules, business etiquette, honorifics, and how to write business documents and email. It also presents and expands on cultural perspectives and concepts as they impact the business world. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course is an introduction to translating and interpreting that provides an overview of the knowledge necessary for the field of translation and interpretation. Students will study general issues involved in translating and interpreting and the building blocks for the necessary knowledge and techniques including rapid reading, analyzing, summarizing and paraphrasing, listening comprehension, and shadowing. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course introduces various aspects of Japanese culture, including history, geography, religion, government, politics, customs and traditions. After a broad historical overview beginning in prehistory, this course focuses on the Tokugawa period as the bedrock for understanding modern Japanese society as a mass society. Taught in English. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

A project-based course that looks behind the Japanese social mask to understand how Japanese people build relationships, community, and lives worth living. Covers modes of thinking and communicating, negotiating, and decision making; ethical systems; the central role of social status and hierarchical relationships; patterns of making friends and influencing others; psychological factors such as dependence and duty; and the Japanese addiction to perfection. Taught in English. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course focuses on Japanese-American experience from the 1860s to the present as an ongoing study in ethnographic assimilation, including early immigration and response; immigration and labor laws; property rights; and WWII internment. Students identify and evaluate the issues of the ethics of assimilation, racial and ethnic discrimination, educational opportunity, social justice, and cultural identity. Taught in English. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course explores post WWII Japanese music, literature, artistic media, and hi-tech products. Investigates social themes ranging from post-holocaust Japanese hedonism to childhood fantasies by looking at Manga comic books, Anime animated movies, and popular music from Enka to J-Pop to Karaoke, as well as fashion and style, popular technology, consumerism, and environmental issues. Explores the evolution of pop culture and its impact on society. Taught in English. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course explores early Japanese prose and poetry to detect native motifs that continue into modern literature. Dramatic scripts, I-Novels, surrealistic fiction, and contemporary authors including Yoshimoto Banana and Murakami Haruki will be read and written about in a student-created literary online diary. Taught in English. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

An introductory scrutiny of major Japanese directors and genres with attention to film composition, choices of subject and character, ideas of the cinematic, and the relationship of cinema to Japanese culture and society. Students will analyze and critique films. Discussion of films will deal with the production of their historical, social, and cultural context, as well as issues dealing with popular culture and equity. Taught in English. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

As the drive to rebuild modern Japan after WWII has slowed, latent and new social problems have become visible. This course offers interdisciplinary perspectives on issues such as care of the elderly and homeless, equal treatment of minorities, gender and labor issues, domestic and world ecological concerns, and relevant institutions that promote or attack prejudice towards heterogeneous social groups. Taught in English. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course is designed to develop a functional use of Japanese for the professions such as education, business, research, technology, government, travel and hospitality. Students will learn how to respond to a variety of situations that focus on business manners such as customer service, telephone conversations and effective communication as a member of the business society. It also presents and expands on cultural perspectives and concepts. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/No Credit Available)

Manga, Anime & Modern Japan, Reality of an Illusion. This class uses Japanese manga cartoons and Anime movies as modern mirrors that reflect the Japanese experience of rapid economic and social transformation over the past 150 years. From ancient Japanese styles of visual expression, this course traces how popular visual texts such as Manga and Anime sketch out a parallel world linked both historically and culturally to the imagined community of the Japanese nation-state. Taught in English. (Credit/No Credit Available)

A focused analysis of historical and modern Japanese society through works of art and media including photography, film, maps, and other visual documents. Students learn to extract information from images as part of a visual analysis. They will also deal with social geographical methods for understanding population density, urban flows, economic disparities, transportation, and built environments. Students will analyze and compare what they understand about Japanese culture with other, more familiar environments. Taught in English. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

This online course introduces the language and culture of Japan in a thematic approach. Selected topics are geography, climate, population, and industries. This course is designed to develop Japanese language skills and introduce various aspects of Japanese culture related to course topics using technology and web-based materials. JAPN380 is a hybrid course featuring synchronous and asynchronous learning. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/No Credit Available)

Studies a particular topic relative to the Japanese language or cultures. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Individualizes student placement for field study as related to Japanese. Offered as interest warrants.

Individual study of a particular aspect of Japanese language, culture, or civilization. A written proposal for the study/research must be approved in advance by the sponsoring faculty member and the program coordinator. Number of credits depends on the nature of the student's academic goals and the consent of the faculty advisor.

This course aims to develop advanced proficiency in interpersonal communication through the formulation of research questions and conducting research utilizing appropriate technologies. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

This course aims to develop basic understanding of structural features of Japanese language. Students will be introduced to basic phonological, morphological, syntactic, and discourse analysis of Japanese. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course aims to develop advanced proficiency through introducing various aspects of modern Japanese literature, including short stories and significant works by authors of the modern period. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course aims to develop advanced proficiency in interpretive communication by gathering, managing and analyzing information using various media. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

This course aims to develop advanced proficiency in communication through oral presentations and developing research papers to present in Japanese using appropriate media. Taught in Japanese. (Credit/No Credit Available)

Examines the evolution of Japanese economic institutions emphasizing the foundations of institutions necessary to the sequential stages of economic development. Includes the emergence of merchant families and banking houses during the Edo and Meiji eras. Explores the development of currency systems, institutions of public finance, transportation, international trade, the economic structure and institutions of modern Japan, and Japan's role as a leading industrial nation. Taught in English. (Credit/No Credit Available)

This course examines the history of Japan in Asia, and how this legacy impacts dealings with its Asian neighbors. How is Japan optimizing it's position in Asia and how are these efforts seen by others in the region? How do Japanese cultural exports work to change perceptions of Japan and the Japanese people in countries once colonized by Japan? How is Japan opening up to people from other countries in Asia and where does it fall short as a regional leader? Taught in English. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Covers early industrialization, Zaibatsu, the rebirth of Japan after WWII and growth into a modern industrial, technological, and economic super power. Includes the development of technology, trade strategies and policies, the bubble economy and Japan in the 21st century. Taught in English. (Credit/ No Credit Available)

Your study abroad experience is potentially a rich opportunity for you to enhance your language skills and deepen your understanding of other cultures, people and their practices. This course provides the resources to help you prepare for your study abroad experiences. This course is taught in English.

Studies a particular topic relative to the Japanese language or cultures. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. (Credit / No Credit Available)

Individualizes student placement for field study as related to Japanese. Offered as interest warrants.

Individual study of a particular aspect of Japanese language, culture, or civilization. A written proposal for the study/research must be approved in advance by the sponsoring faculty member. Number of credits depends on the nature of the student's academic goals and the consent of the faculty advisor.

Studies a particular topic relative to the Japanese language or cultures. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

Individualizes student placement for field study as related to Japanese. Offered as interest warrants.

Individual study of a particular aspect of Japanese language, culture, or civilization. A written proposal for the study/research must be approved in advance by the sponsoring faculty member. Number of credits depends on the nature of the student's academic goals and the consent of the faculty advisor.