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JPNS 2750: Japanese Life & Culture |
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Dr. Jeffrey Angles Fall 2007 / MW 4:00-5:15 pm Sangren Hall 2212 / CRN 41208 Cross listed as HNRS 2400 (Call No. 44798) Office Hours: W 1:00-3:00 pm or by appt. Office: 518 Sprau Tower Tel. No.: 269-387-3044 Image: KANOKOGI Takeshiro, |
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GOALS OF THE CLASS: · To provide a survey of Japanese culture and history over the last thousand years through some of its cultural production (essays, writing, literature, art, film). · To provide students with a survey of the various periods of Japanese history. · To show Japan's many cultural transformations in the modern period. · To introduce students to some of the major genres of Japanese literature and to introduce several major genres and themes in Japanese art history. · To reflect on the ways that Japanese have reflected their personal, religious, and national experience through material culture. · To encourage students to develop close reading and empathetic skills. REQUIRED TEXTS: · Wm. Theodore de Bary, Donald Keene, George Tanabe, and Paul Varley (eds.), Sources of Japanese Tradition: Volume 1, From Earliest Times to 1600, 2nd edition (NY: Columbia University Press, 2001). [ISBN 978-0231121392] · Wm. Theodore de Bary, Carol Gluck, and Arthur E. Tiedemann (eds.), Sourceso f Japanese Tradition: Volume 2, Part 2, 1868-2000 (NY: Columbia University Press, 2006). [ISBN 978-0231139199] · Jeffrey ANGLES and J. Thomas RIMER (eds.), Japan: A Traveler’s Literary Companion (Berkeley, Whereabouts Press, 2006). [ISBN 978-1883513160] · MIYABE Miyuki, All She Was Worth, trans. Alfred Birnbaum (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999). [ISBN 978-0395966587] RECOMMENDED TEXTS: · NATSUME Sōseki, Kokoro, trans. Edwin McClellan (Washington: Regency, 1999). The full text of the novel is also available on the web at http://www.eldritchpress.org/ns/soseki.html. You can choose whether you would prefer to read the book online or in book form. · The required and recommended texts above will also be on 2-hour reserve in Waldo Library. · When reading essays about Japanese history, TAKE NOTES! It is a good idea to make a chart of personal names and key concepts. · When reading literature, TAKE NOTES on the roles of characters, setting, and so on. Be sure to read for 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. |
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GRADING: · 5% Map Exam about Japanese Geography · 25% Midterm Exam · 30% Final Exam · 20% Two Short Take-Home Essay Questions · 10% Internet Discussion · 10% Class Participation The instructor promises to have graded essays and other materials to students within two weeks after students submitted their work. |
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The following scale will be used for grades. · A: 93-100% · AB: 90-93% · B: 83-90% · BC: 80-83% · C: 73-80% · CD: 70-73% · D: 63%-70% · E: Below 63% Grades will be visible at all times to students by clicking “My Grades” in WebCT Vista. |
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ABOUT CLASS PARTICIPATION: The instructor encourages students to ask questions in class, make comments, and respond to instructor’s questions in class. At the end of the semester, students that have participated in class by coming regularly, raising their hands, asking questions, and providing reflections on the material will get full credit for the class participation portion of their grade (10%). Students who come to almost all classes but are quiet will usually get 8% toward their final grade. Students who come only sporadically and/or do not participate in the lecture/discussion times will receive a lower number than that. The reason for this policy is to encourage you to participate in your own learning. The more you think critically about what is being said and react to it, the more you will get out of the entire experience! ABOUT INTERNET DISCUSSION: Most weeks, students will be required to read one short story from the book Japan: A Traveler’s Literary Companion then to post their thoughts and critical reactions to it to the WebCT Vista website. For full credit, students should post at least one paragraph. Postings are due each week on Friday at 5 pm. The professor will add comments after that so check back later! Possible subjects you might write about: · In what ways does the story seem to reflect Japanese culture? · What images does the story present of the particular place in Japan where the story is set? · What might be the historical background of this story? · What do you think that the author was trying to say in this story? In other words, what themes (big messages) do you see in the story? Students are encouraged to include personal thoughts, but not just simple reactions like “I liked it” or “I disliked it.” (Such simple reactions will not earn any credit.) Make sure that your posting shows that you read the story and thought about it! Students are encouraged to read other people’s postings and react to them. How to post your reaction on WebCT Vista: · Go to http://gowmu.wmich.edu and sign in with the same username & password as you do to get your e-mail. · Click “e-learning” at the top of the page. Another browser page should pop-up. · Click on “Japanese Life and Culture: JPNS 2750.” · Click on “Discussions.” · Click on the week that you want to post in. · Click “Create message.” · Write your posting for the week then click “Post.” COURSE READINGS & SCHEDULE: Any changes announced in class will also be made to this webpage. Click “refresh” on your computer to get the newest version. Readings in white font are available at the WMU bookstore. Readings in blue are available on electronic reserve from the WMU libraries. To access them, go to http://www.wmich.edu/library/reserves/ and create an account (if you don’t have one already). You will then need to search for our class “Japanese 2750” and add it to your list of classes before you can access the PDFs. Key to abbreviations Week 1: Introduction to the Course 9/5 (Weds) · Brief introduction to Japanese geography (Click here for the map the quiz will be over next week.) Week 2: Shintō and Ancient Japan 9/10 (Mon) · Map quiz about Japanese geography (Click here for the map the quiz will be over.) · SOJT1, “Chapter 1: The Earliest Records of Japan,” Sources of Japanese Tradition: Volume 1, From Earliest Times to 1600 (NY: Columbia University Press, 2001), pp. 3-16. 9/12 (Weds) · Thomas P. KASULIS, "Chapter 1: Entering through the Torii," from Shinto: The Way Home (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2004) pp. 8-37. · SOJT1, First part of “Chapter 2: Early Shinto” ending at “Shinto Prayers,” pp. 17-31. 9/14 (Fri) · For internet discussion: JTLC, Hino Keizō, “Jacob’s Tokyo Ladder,” pp. 1-15. Week 3: Buddhism and Early Japan 9/17 (Mon) · SOJT1, First half of “Chapter 3: Prince Shōtoku and His Constitution,” pp. 40-62. 9/19 (Weds) · SOJT1, Introduction & selections from “Chapter 5: Nara Buddhism,” pp. 100-106, 111-117. · SOJT1, Selections from “Chapter 7: Kūkai and Esoteric Buddhism,” pp. 153-157, 162-170. 9/21 (Fri) · For internet discussion: JTLC, Maruya Saiichi, “The Obtuse Young Man,” pp. 16-43. Week 4: The Heian Court & the “Golden Age” of Japanese Arts & Letters 9/24 (Mon) · SOJT1, Entire “Chapter 9: The Vocabulary of Japanese Aesthetics I,” pp. 196-204. 9/26 (Weds) · MURASAKI Shikibu, “Kiritsubo: The Paulownia Pavilion” from The Tale of Genji, vol. 1, trans. Royall Tyler (NY: Viking, 2001) pp. 1-18. 9/28 (Fri) · For internet discussion: JTLC, Inoue Yasushi, “Under the Shadow of Mt. Bandai,” pp. 44-74. Week 5: Japan & Religion in the Medieval Period 10/1 (Mon) · SOJT1, Introduction & selections from “Chapter 12: The Way of the Warrior,” pp. 265-70, 276-83. · SOJT1, Introduction & selections from “Chapter 10: Amida, The Pure Land, and the Response of the Old Buddhism to the New,” pp. 211-222. 10/3 (Weds) · SOJT1, Introduction & selections from “Chapter 14: Zen Buddhism,” pp. 306-311, 315-316, 319-326. · SOJT1, Introduction & selections from “Chapter 16: The Vocabulary of Japanese Aesthetics II,” pp. 365-371, 388-398. 10/5 (Fri) · For internet discussion: JTLC, Atōda Takashi, “The Destiny of Shoes,” pp. 126-143. Week 6: Edo-Period Popular Culture 10/8 (Mon) · CHIKAMATSU Monzaemon, “The Love Suicides at Amijima,” trans. Donald Keene, Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology 1600-1900, ed. Haruo Shirane (NY: Columbia Univ. Press, 2002) pp. 313-47. 10/10 (Weds) · SANTŌ Kyōden, “Grilled and Basted Edo-Born Playboy,” trans. Chris Drake, Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology 1600-1900, ed. Haruo Shirane (NY: Columbia Univ. Press, 2002) pp. 687-710. 10/12 (Fri) · For internet discussion: JTLC, Mizukami Tsutomu, “One Night with Mother,” pp. 165-178. Week 7: Representation of Late Edo Period in Popular Japanese Media 10/15 (Mon) & 10/17 (Weds) · The Twilight Samurai, directed by Yamada Yōji (Film shown in class) 10/19 (Fri) · Essay No. 2 on The Love Suicides at Amijima due. Submit essays by clicking on “Assigments” on the left side of the class page on WebCT. · Internet discussion for this week cancelled! Week 8: Exam / Meiji Restoration 10/22 (Mon): MIDTERMEXAM 10/24 (Weds) · SOJT2, Introduction & selections from “Chapter 35: The Meiji Restoration,” pp. 5-17, 24-29. · SOJT2, Introduction & selections from “Chapter 36: Civilization and Enlightenment,” pp. 30-41. · SOJT2, Selections about the “Imperial Rescript on Education” from “Chapter 38: Education in Meiji Japan,” pp. 108-110. 10/26 (Fri): No internet discussion this week! Week 9: The Side-Effects of Japan's Modernization 10/29 (Mon) & 10/31 (Weds) · Read the entire novel NATSUME Sōseki, Kokoro, trans. Edwin McClellan (Washington: Regnery, 1999). The full text of the novel is also available on the web at http://www.eldritchpress.org/ns/soseki.html. 11/2 (Fri) · For internet discussion, post your thoughts and critical reactions about the novel Kokoro. Week 10: Modernization and Its Legacy 11/5 (Mon) · Finish up discussion about the entire novel Kokoro by NATSUME Sōseki. 11/7 (Weds) · SOJT2, Introduction and selections from “Chapter 41: Socialism and the Left,” pp. 212-235. · SOJT2, Introduction and selections from “Chapter 48: Gender Politics and Feminism,” pp. 472-488. 11/9 (Fri) · For internet discussion: JTLC, Miyamoto Teru, “The Swallow’s Nest.” Week 11: World War II and Its Impact 11/12 (Mon) · SOJT2, Entire chapter, “Chapter 43: Empire and War,” 288-319. 11/14 (Weds) · NOSAKA Akiyuki, "A Grave of Fireflies," trans. James R. Abrams, Japan Quarterly 25.4 (Oct-Dec 1978): 445-63. 11/16 (Fri) · For internet discussion: JTLC, Takahashi Mutsuo, “The Snow of Memory.” Week 12: The Long Shadow of World War II 11/19 (Mon) · SOJT2, “A New Basic Document: The 1947 Constitution” from “Chapter 44: The Occupation Years, 1945-1952,” pp.330-340. · SOJT2, Selections from “Chapter 49: Thinking with the Past,” pp.553-573. 11/21 (Weds): THANKSGIVING RECESS -- Happy Thanksgiving! 11/23 (Fri): No internet discussion this week! Week 13: The Economic Miracle and Its Underside 11/26 (Mon) · SOJT2, Introduction and selections from “Chapter 45: Democracy and High Growth,” 382-384, 389-391, 400-412. 11/28 (Weds) · First half of MIYABE Miyuki, All She Was Worth, trans. Alfred Birnbaum (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999). 11/30 (Fri) · For internet discussion: JTLC, Shima Tsuyoshi, "Bones," pp. 204-223. Week 14: Japan and the Postmodern Era 12/3 (Mon) · Second half of MIYABE Miyuki, All She Was Worth, trans. Alfred Birnbaum (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999). 12/5 (Weds) · Elise K. TIPTON, "Chapter 13: The 'lost decade...' in Modern Japan: A Social and Political History (NY: Routledge, 2002) pp. 210-228. 12/7 (Fri): Essay No. 2 about All She Was Worth due by WebCT Exam Week 12/10 (Mon) 5pm-7pm FINAL EXAM 12/18 (Tues) Date for grades to be submitted to WMU by noon |
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MAKE-UPS / LATE WORK: · If you have to miss a test, please contact the professor ahead of time to make other arrangements. · If you miss a test because of illness, calamities in the family, and so on, you will need to provide documentation. You should try to make up the test within a calendar week. · Every day that an essay or homework is late, the grade will be drop by 25%, provided that there are no extenuating circumstances. If a paper is four or more days late, then the work will not be accepted. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: · You are responsible for making yourself aware of and understanding the policies and procedures in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs that pertain to Academic Honesty. These policies include cheating, fabrication, falsification and forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism, complicity and computer misuse. [The policies can be found at www.www.wmich.edu/catalog under Academic Policies, Student Rights and Responsibilities.] If there is reason to believe you have been involved in academic dishonesty, you will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. You will be given the opportunity to review the charge(s). If you believe you are not responsible, you will have the opportunity for a hearing. You should consult with me if you are uncertain about an issue of academic honesty prior to the submission of an assignment or test. · At the end of all essays, include a bibliography citing all sources you have used, including sources on the internet. |
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