Transfer Student Courses in Japanese (Division 401)

Fall Term, 1999 (September 8 - December 22, 1999)

To see what Transfer Student courses have been added or changed in Japanese this week go to What's New This Week.

Culture Courses/Literature Courses

Sections 001-004 meet the Upper-Level Writing Requirement.

Instructor(s): Esperanza Ramirez-Christensen (qmz@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: A knowledge of Japanese is not required. (4). (HU).

Credits: (4).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

Using the question of love, beauty, and death as a thematic focus, this coourse examines the premodern history of the human being in Japan. In the course of reading literature (both canonical and popular) which portray the themes of love and death, we will analyze the concepts of good and evil, truth, and the "beautiful" in Japanese cultural history. We will pay attention to the questions that arise in reading the works of a culture different from the West in its philosophies and religions; in its linguistic usages and artistic expressions; its emphasis on form and ritual as a crucial component otf the moral person. We will also note the existance of various separate cultures-courtly, merchant, craftsman, samurai and priest, actor and geisha, each with its own hierarchy and code of ethics and aesthetics. Class materials will include, apart from literary works, secobdary sources from criticism, history, philosophy and religion, sociology, as well as visual media like painting and film.

Language Courses

Section 001.

Instructor(s): Fusae Ekida (fekida@umich.edu) , Omoto

Prerequisites & Distribution: Japanese 202 or 362. (4). (Excl).

Credits: (4).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

This reading course is specifically designed for students who plan to pursue a career in Japanese studies research at a graduate level. Intensified instruction on how to develop reading ability through the reading of a variety of materials is given during the first half of the term. Then acquired techniques will be applied to actual reading of the materials in the student's area of interest. Oral and listening comprehension are not the focus of the course, but the class may be conducted mostly in Japanese, with occasional English explanation if necessary.

Language Courses

Section 001.

Instructor(s): Ohara

Prerequisites & Distribution: Japanese 406, 411; and permission of instructor. (3). (Excl).

Credits: (3).

Course Homepage: http://www.lsa.umich.edu/asian/japanese/J4th_bus/416.html

Commonly known as Business Japanese, this course stresses the effective use of the Japanese spoken language in contexts likely to be encountered by a career-oriented professional in Japan. Topics include: Organization, Business Travel, Meetings, Bureaucracy, Distribution, Expansion, Annual Reports, Business Ritual and Socializing. In addition, the course will include practice in rapid reading and transcription/dictation of moderately difficult texts, newspaper articles, and news broadcasts. Students are expected to practice with audio tapes for a minimum of two hours for each class hour. Since this is a late addition to the course guide, the days and times of this class are currently listed "to be arranged". There will be an organizational meeting the first week of school to decide on a meeting time.

Language Courses

Section 001 – Heroes, Thieves, and Man-eaters.

Instructor(s): Keller Kimbrough

Prerequisites & Distribution: Japanese 542. (3). (Excl). May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor.

Credits: (3).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

The world of Muromachi fiction is populated by a diverse array of bold and fantastic characters. In this seminar we will engage in close reading of several otogizôshi (including Shuten Dôji, Koastumori, Hachikazuki, Koawata kitsune, etc.), as well as related works from various medieval literary genres. We will read and discuss contemporary scholarship from the U.S. and Japan, and we will explore such issues as the relationship of text to illustration (including cases in which the painting is the text), the influence of oral, performative literature on written literary genres (and vice-versa), and the prominent influence of Buddhist proselytizing on the development of 'new' literary forms with uniquely 'medieval' characteristics. We will acquaint ourselves with the didactic storytelling of biwa hôshi, etoki hôshi, sekkyôshi, Kumano bikuni and other mendicant entertainer-proselytizers, and we will look briefly at the 15th and 16th century Tendai Lotus Sutra commentaries as troves of as-yet largely unexplored setsuwa. Graduate students in Japanese Literature, Art History and Buddhist Studies are specifically encouraged to attend.

Language Courses

Section 001 – Shishôsetsu and Its Refractions.

Instructor(s): Ken Ito (kenkito@umich.edu)

Prerequisites & Distribution: Japanese 406 and 408. (3). (Excl). May be repeated for credit with permission of instructor.

Credits: (3).

Course Homepage: No Homepage Submitted.

This term's seminar on modern Japanese literature will focus upon the literature of the Taisho period and the shishôsetsu. We will examine how the "genre" that became the standard for high-culture fiction was produced, maintained, and ultimately problematized. We will also look at a number of Taisho works that foregrounded fabulation instead of "confession." This will allow us to reflect upon the conflicts, subversions, and counter-discourses that evolved from the valorization of a rhetoric of sincerity. Readings will be drawn from works by Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Nagai Kafu, Shiga Naoya, Chikamatsu Shuko, Kasai Zenzo, Uno Koji, and Tanizaki Jun'ichiro. The readings for the course, which should average about a novel a week, will be in Japanese. Participants in the seminar will be asked to present regular oral reports and to write a paper of 15-20 pages.