Fall 2020
JAPN 302: History of Japan
This course further develops advanced level Japanese through building and expanding knowledge 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 Students will demonstrate ability to accurately comprehend ideas across a range of historical content.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.
MLO 1 Japanese Language and Communication & MLO 2 Japanese Culture
MLO 1 Japanese Language and Communication & MLO 2 Japanese Culture
Work Example
This class is designed in order for the students who are enrolled to gain a better understanding about Japan’s history overall and many of its important parts of culture. Much similar to a US history class, we were taught based on the timeline, all of the important dates and events in Japanese history. This included many feudal wars, important historical figures, and important dates which every native Japanese citizen would know or at least learn once. As students, we discussed how Japan came to be the country it is today, as well as perhaps how things would have changed if the results hadn’t remained what they were. We were also taught about important parts of geography, which helped shape Japan, either in a cultural or political way. We also talked in depth about the rise and fall of the Japanese imperial family, and how they lost the almighty power they had to the feudal system during the Edo period. We were then quizzed on our knowledge which we had to change during class through tests, presentations, and being called on by the teacher. Through the usage of texts, videos, and peer reviewed articles, we were taught an accurate and unbiased version of Japanese history, which would become very important to us who are Japanese language and culture is majors. A large portion of the class was also dedicated to World War 2, which is a common theme amongst many of our classes due to Japan’s large involvement with getting the US involved in it. However, I believe that the class did not discuss the war crimes committed by Imperial Japan, which largely shaped and changed the dynamic of many south east Asian countries and affected millions of people.
JAPN 215: Cool Japan Today
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.
MLO 2 Japanese Culture
MLO 2 Japanese Culture
Work Example
Cool Japan, today was a class that focused on many of the contemporary artworks in media pieces produced in Japan, the past several decades, which also held a large influence on Japanese society, and how the western world continue to view it. We went over different pieces of movies, writings, and artworks, which all helped to have us better understand the evolution and ever-changing mindsets through the generations of Japan’s society and youth. I took this class, mostly for the fact that we were going to go over anime and manga, which is something I love, but it was also interesting to learn the influences behind some of the anime manga we were reading in class. We were also challenged to conceptualize what impact these kinds of cultural exports would have on the western world and Japan’s surrounding countries due to their continual rise in popularity. Similar to how an art appreciation class would be conducted, the teacher emphasize to us about looking beyond the surface of the pieces we were instructed to research. This means, so we were encouraged to find the nuances and references within the pieces in order to gain a better understanding of the bigger picture which the artists were trying to portray. As students, we were also encouraged to take in Japanese media, performance arts, literature, music, and fine arts, on a daily basis, and to try to research them in an effort to better know how to do so for class and try to improve our artistic critical thinking skills.