98223

JAPN 101   Introductory Japanese I

Hoyt Long

M T W Th .

9:20 - 10:20 am

OLINLC 210

FLLC

The first part of a two-semester sequence introducing the fundamentals of the Japanese language. Students will systematically develop their abilities in the four primary skills: listening, speaking, writing and reading. Course work will consist of extensive study of basic grammar, language lab work, conversation practice, and simple composition exercises.   

 

98222

JAPN 201   Intermediate Japanese

Michiko Baribeau

. T W Th .

9:20 - 10:20 am

OLINLC 206

FLLC

This course accelerates the acquisition of Chinese characters and introduces more complex grammatical patterns and expressions with the goal of refining students’ mastery of modern Japanese.  Prerequisite:  Japanese 102 or equivalent background.

 

98445

JAPN 302   Advanced Japanese

Michiko Baribeau

. T Th .

1:25-2:25 pm

HEG 300

FLLC

This course is a continuation of Japanese 301. Students will concentrate on the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing, with a heavier emphasis on oral ability. The course continues the introduction of complex grammatical patterns while further accelerating the acquisition of Chinese characters and advanced vocabulary. Students will build oratory skills through debate on relevant social topics and through individual research presentations. Composition of advanced written material will also be emphasized. The course will be conducted in Japanese. Prerequisite: Japanese 301 or equivalent.

 

98208

JAPN 310   Natsume Soseki:Authorship Text, and the Question of Non-Western Modernity

Hoyt Long

M. . . .

3:00-5:20 pm

OLIN 302

FLLC

Cross-listed:  Asian Studies   This course takes up one of modern Japan’s most prominent intellectual figures, the writer and literary critic Natsume Soseki (1867-1916). A student of English literature who studied abroad in London, lectured at the University of Tokyo, and then went on to establish himself as a celebrated novelist, Soseki and his works offer a window onto a formative period in the evolution of Japanese literature and onto a critical moment in Japan’s social history. Working through Soseki’s major novels and essays, we will address a larger set of questions and themes relating to authorship, the relation of literary text to history, and the possibilities for imagining a non-Western mode of modernity. What was it to be an “author” in Soseki’s day? What was it to be a “Japanese” author writing between the literary traditions of old and the newest theories imported from Europe? How did Soseki confront the changing status of the individual in modern society, both as a writer and as a public intellectual? And finally, how did he address Japan’s unique status as a nation moving toward Western-style modernity on its own terms?  Prior background in Japanese literature is preferable, but not required. All readings will be in English.