Language 375: Japanese Literature in English Translation "Reading Modern Japan", Dr. Jeffrey Angles, Spring 2005

· To use Japanese literary sources to understand some of the ways in which the Japanese have reflected upon and represented the national experience between the advent of Japan's period of modernization and the present.

· To examine the complicated process of cultural change and adaptation that has taken place in Japan over the last century.

· To encourage the development of students' critical and empathic capacities.

· To encourage the development of students' research and writing skills

GRADING:

· 20% Midterm Exam

· 20% Final Exam

· 15% Three In-Class Quizzes (Each 5%)

· 35% Final Project (Creation of a webpage, see details below)

· 10% Class Participation

GRADING SCALE:

· A = 91-100%

· BA = 90-86%

· B=81-85%

· CB = 76-80%

· C = 71-75%

· DC = 66-70%

· D = 60-65%

· E = Under 60%

The instructor promises to have graded quizzes, tests, and other materials to students within two weeks after students submit their work.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

· SHIMAZAKI Tōson, The Broken Commandment, trans. Kenneth Strong (Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1974) [ISBN 0860081915]

· ODA Makoto, The Breaking Jewel, trans. Donald Keene (NY: Columbia University Press, 2003). [ISBN 0231126131]

· YU Miri, Gold Rush, trans. Stephen Snyder (NY: Welcome Rain Publishers, 1998). [ISBN 1566492831]

· MURAKAMI Haruki, The Elephant Vanishes (NY: Vintage International, 1994) [ISBN 0679750533]

RECOMMENDED TEXTS:

· NATSUME Sōseki, Kokoro (NY: Perigree / Regnery Publishing, 1996) [ISBN 0895267152]

The full text of Natsume Sōseki's Kokoro is also available via the internet at http://www.eldritchpress.org/ns/soseki.html.

Additional sources not listed above will on closed reserve at the reserve desk at Waldo library. (No password required.) They will also be available via WebCT (https://webct.wmich.edu/webct/public/home.pl).

TERM PAPER:

Students will write an extended review of a work of modern Japanese literature (post-Restoration literature) of their own choosing. Students can choose to write about a novel, a novella, or at least two short stories. Students should consult with the professor in person or by e-mail before selecting the work.

The review should be submitted to the professor in HTML format so that the review can be posted to the internet. The review should include the following elements in roughly the following order.

1. Bibliographic information about the work in MLA format. (Examples below.)

· For a novel: SURNAME given name, Title of Novel, trans. translator's name (Place of publication: Publisher, Date).

· For a short story in a book collection: SURNAME given name, "Title of Short Story," trans. translator's name, Book name (Place of publication: Publisher, Date) starting page number-final page number.

· For a short story in a journal: SURNAME given name, "Title of Short Story," trans. translator's name, Journal name Vol.Issue (Date): page numbers.

2. Summary of the plot

3. Commentary about the work

· Discussion of major themes

· Interpretation

· Recurring symbols

· Historical significance of the work

· References to sources used in this section should be cited in footnotes.

4. Author (Birth date-death date)

· Biographical information

· List of other major works available in translation

· Comments about the place of the reviewed work in author's oeuvre

· References to sources used in this section should be cited in footnotes.

5. Bibliography of sources

· List of major books, articles, and dissertations about the work

· List of major books, articles, and dissertations about the author

· Brief comments about the contents of each after each listing

6. Annotated bibliography of internet sources (Make links clickable)

· List of websites about the work

· List of websites about the author

· Brief comments about the contents of each after each listing

For suggestions about finding a work of Japanese literature to read, click here.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

· The course is listed as an Area 2 (Humanities) General Education course.

· The course is listed as a Baccalaureate Writing course for the General Education requirements.

· When reading Japanese literature, it is a good idea to make notes on the roles of characters and to read for detail. Characterization is often found in detail, setting, and social role.

· The instructor has designed this course on the assumption that students do not read Japanese.

COURSE READINGS & SCHEDULE (Subject to change):

Texts listed below in a blue font are required texts that are available in the bookstore. Hard copies of all other texts (in white font below) are on two-hour reserve in the library or on WebCT.

Week 1

1/4 (T): Fundamentals of the Course / The Meiji Restoration (1868)

· Go over the syllabus

· About the Meiji Restoration (1868)

· TSUBOUCHI Shōyō, "The Essence of the Novel," trans. Donald Keene, Modern Japanese Literature, ed. Donald Keene (NY: Grove Press, 1956) 55-58 [Available on handout and on WebCT].

1/6 (R): Modernizing the Japanese novel (Part one)

· FUTABATEI Shimei, Chapters 1 through 3, "Ukigumo," trans. Marleigh Grayer Ryan, Japan's First Modern Novel: Ukigumo (NY: Columbia University Press, 1965) 197-222 [Available on WebCT and on library reserve].

· Begin exploring the library for a work or author on which you would like to do a term paper.

Week 2

1/11 (T): The "modern self" in the nation-state (Part one) / Experiences of Japanese students abroad (Part one)

· MORI Ōgai, “The Dancing Girl,” trans. Richard Bowring, Youth and Other Stories, ed. J. Thomas Rimer (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1994) 6-24 [Available on WebCT and on library reserve].

1/13 (R): The "modern self" in the nation-state (Part two)

· HIGUCHI Ichiyō, "Child's Play," trans. Robert Lyons Danly, In the Shade of Spring Leaves (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981) 254-88 [Available on WebCT and on library reserve].