MLO 2:
Japanese Culture
2.1 Students develop a comprehensive understanding, appreciation, and knowledge of Japanese culture: perspectives (ideas, beliefs, attitudes, values, philosophies), practices (patterns of social interactions) and products (both tangible and intangible, for example, art, history, literature, music).
2.2 Students develop analytical and critical thinking in areas such as how Japan’s cultural background influences modern Japanese life, how to compare their own culture with the Japanese culture, or how Japanese culture relates to other world cultures in an age of global inter-relatedness.
Japanese Culture
2.1 Students develop a comprehensive understanding, appreciation, and knowledge of Japanese culture: perspectives (ideas, beliefs, attitudes, values, philosophies), practices (patterns of social interactions) and products (both tangible and intangible, for example, art, history, literature, music).
2.2 Students develop analytical and critical thinking in areas such as how Japan’s cultural background influences modern Japanese life, how to compare their own culture with the Japanese culture, or how Japanese culture relates to other world cultures in an age of global inter-relatedness.
JAPN 213. JAPN 310
JAPN 307 JAPN 311
JAPN 215 JAPN 317
JAPN 212 JAPN 410
JAPN 302 WLC 400
JAPN 380
Final Presentation - 日本人のためのセクハラ 防止セミナー JAPN ver. (JAPN 312) [clickable link]
JAPN 213 Essay [clickable link]
JAPN 213 Essay [clickable link]
Because I grew up in a predominantly Asian area, with many Japanese people being part of it, and also had taken Japanese language and culture for four years in high school, I already had a good grasp on Japan’s culture even before I came to college. However, there are also many things in Japanese culture which I did not understand or was never given a clear explanation of. Therefore, these classes I helped to fill in the blanks and also get me to understand new ideas which I had never previously given any mind to. One thing I still struggle with, is the Japanese business side of culture. I myself am a strong believer in feminist values, so the fact that much the class revolved around teaching us that women in the office must be the ones serving the men in the in the businesses did not sit well with me. This is something that’s part of Japanese culture, which I do not believe I will ever get used to and which I will actively fight against. You can see this in my final presentation for JAPN 312, it is linked, which is about sexual harassment in the workplace. In this I bring up statistics and facts about the topic, and try to talk about how we can resolve them.
However, we also have talked about the more popular parts of Japanese culture, such as anime manga. Learning about this topic has taught me more about how Japan channels a lot of it’s beliefs and many of its lessons about it’s traditions and modern day culture into media. This is a way for the international audience to better understand the history and culture of Japan, in a way that they can digest easily, and also relate back to their own. My JAPN 312 final essay talks about this, and I will have it linked.
I hope to continue growing my knowledge of Japanese language and culture outside of classes, or an academic setting, by going to Japan one day and viewing it firsthand. My goal is to one day, be able to assimilate into Japanese culture without any problems and for it to come almost as second nature to me. Although I realize it will be difficult as I do have a job and I will not be able to go to Japan as frequently as I hope so unless it is a business trip. However, I do hope that one day I am able to move to Japan and possibly be there for the foreseeable future. Until that is possible though, I will be trying to use Japanese culture in my day-to-day life in America, so that way I do not forget about it.
However, we also have talked about the more popular parts of Japanese culture, such as anime manga. Learning about this topic has taught me more about how Japan channels a lot of it’s beliefs and many of its lessons about it’s traditions and modern day culture into media. This is a way for the international audience to better understand the history and culture of Japan, in a way that they can digest easily, and also relate back to their own. My JAPN 312 final essay talks about this, and I will have it linked.
I hope to continue growing my knowledge of Japanese language and culture outside of classes, or an academic setting, by going to Japan one day and viewing it firsthand. My goal is to one day, be able to assimilate into Japanese culture without any problems and for it to come almost as second nature to me. Although I realize it will be difficult as I do have a job and I will not be able to go to Japan as frequently as I hope so unless it is a business trip. However, I do hope that one day I am able to move to Japan and possibly be there for the foreseeable future. Until that is possible though, I will be trying to use Japanese culture in my day-to-day life in America, so that way I do not forget about it.