Spring 2022
JAPN 317: Pacific Food Empires
This course examines the historical processes that have informed the food on our plates. In particular, we will look at food as a medium through which to understand the processes of migration, invention, colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism that have shaped much of the Asia-Pacific world, including Japan and the United States. Students will have a clear understanding of the processes of colonialism and globalization that informed the spread and invention of different food cultures and cuisines.
MLO 2 Japanese Culture
MLO 2 Japanese Culture
In Japanese 317, I was taught how food can make a big cultural impact on people. I was also made aware of the fact that somethings we commonly associated with certain cultures and countries did not actually originate from those places. For example, I wasn’t aware that tomatoes did not grow natively in Italy. Therefore, they did not get them for a very long time, until after the Americas were discovered. I was also made aware of how people’s emotions and thoughts can come from food. I thought it was extremely interesting that everybody had some sort of connection to food, whether it was a time in their life, a memory of a loved one, or just a feeling. We were also taught about how food is being impacted by global warming, certain, natural, disasters, and colonization. This class was extremely fun to be in because we were also allowed to bring in a Food of our choice on the last day of class, which resulted everybody having a potluck, and sharing their own memories of food, which was extremely nice to hear. The class as a whole was also made aware of hell gentrification of areas, migration, and “white washing” of food can also have a huge impact on how people view their own ethnic group. This really stuck with me as somebody who is of Mexican descent, I don’t feel like I truly know what Mexican food is because much of it has been colonized or catered to American pallets. Therefore, the food here, although very similar to Mexico, is not at all exactly the same.
JAPN 410: Quakes/Nukes: Unnatural JAPN
Japan is richly diverse, from the tundra-like north to the subtropical south. Its islands are shaped by earthquakes, volcanoes, and man-made ecologies. We study the Japanese archipelago from multiple scientific and humanistic perspectives, including material from scientific journals, films, history, anthropology, and Japanese comics. We cover the basics of Japanese geology, Pacific seismology (the ¿Ring of Fire¿), the causes and effects of nuclear radiation, and the changes to the land.
MLO 2 Japanese Culture
MLO 2 Japanese Culture
Work Example
Work Example
Whenever you think of Japan, you think of WW2. In this class, we go over how natural disasters and nuclear testing or nuclear bombings have had a significant effect on Japan and its surrounding countries. For instance, we discussed how Japan had to essentially reconsider how is operated it’s tuna trade due to the American government doing the bikini atoll bomb testings and how the natives of those islands suffered massive health repercussions from the radioactivity. We continued to go over how nuclear energy has affected how the world operates, how countries negotiate, and how natural disasters are caused. Such as discussing why the 2011 Tsunami in Japan happened and how volcanoes are formed over millions of years. We were told how dangerous the ring of fire actually is and how powerful it is too, going in depth over tectonic plates and their various movements which cause earthquakes. This was also a class surrounding the geography and geology of Japan. We went over how Japan has a vast range of different ecosystems and climates. In addition, we also discussed how these said ecosystems and climates have impacted Japanese society as a whole. This includes modern day media and climate movements. This then also plays into how we discussed the differences between the US government in Okinawa and the natives. Anthropology also became a common topic for us to discuss as well, as many of the different parts of Japan had native people who learned to adapt to the ecosystems, which were also vastly different.
JAPN 301: Adv Japanese Language, Culture & Communication
This course continues to develop advanced level Japanese competency through further acquisition of Japanese cultural knowledge on a variety of fields and disciplines in content-based instruction. Taught in Japanese.
MLO 1 Japanese Language and Communication
MLO 1 Japanese Language and Communication
Work Example
In this class, I was taught to speak, read, and write Japanese at an intermediate-advanced level. Through the use of complex and advanced grammar, vocabulary, and linguistic terminology I was able to enhance my Japanese language skills to be at the level which was expected of me. Us students enrolled in the class were required to speak to the teacher and amongst ourselves only in Japanese, so that we may be fully immersed and invested in our goal of furthering our fluency. This was also achieved by introducing us to new topics pertaining to Japanese culture, so that we were introduced to new words every class. We students were also expected to complete worksheets, work in groups or pairs, prepare and present presentations, and complete weekly writing assignments, where we could show off our abilities in the target language and see our progress throughout the semester. In the end, I c came away from the class with a higher fluency level in Japanese and a more in depth understanding of Japan's culture.