Japanese (JPNS)

Courses

JPNS 1010 (5) Beginning Japanese 1

Provides a thorough introduction to modern Japanese, emphasizing speaking, listening, reading, and writing in a cultural context.

Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 1012 (4) Introduction to Japanese Civilization

An interdisciplinary introduction to the cultural history of peoples of the Japanese archipelago from prehistory to the present through the exploration of literature, material life, art forms, politics, religious practices, and intellectual currents. Taught in English; no prior knowledge of Japanese language, culture, or history is necessary or expected.

Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Human Diversity
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-Global Perspective
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 1020 (5) Beginning Japanese 2

Continuation of JPNS 1010.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 1010 (minimum grade C).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 1051 (3) Portals to Japanese Literature

Surveys Japanese thought and culture through careful reading and discussion of selected significant works of Japanese literature in translation. Texts may include works of poetry, fiction, drama, diaries, and essays, from ancient times to the present. Taught in English.

Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Literature and the Arts
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 2110 (5) Intermediate Japanese 1

Continued study of oral and written modern Japanese in a cultural context.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 1020 (minimum grade C).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Foreign Language
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Foreign Language
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 2120 (5) Intermediate Japanese 2

Continuation of JPNS 2110.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 2110 (minimum grade C).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 2441 (3) Japanese Culture through Film and Anime

Examines 20th century Japanese culture through cinematic and animated films. Studies films by Ozu, Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, and contemporary animators Tezuka, Miyazaki, and Kon Satoshi. Considers cultural issues raised in film and anime in light of modern Japanese history and literature. Requires no knowledge of Japanese. Taught in English.

Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 2811 (3) Heroes and the Supernatural: Word and Image in Old Japan

Examines the fusion of literary and visual arts in twelfth- to nineteenth-century Japan, focusing on illustrated handscrolls and narrative paintings. Students will explore tales of monsters, samurai, fantastic journeys to other worlds, anthropomorphic animals, and the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century precursors of contemporary Japanese comics. This course seeks to analyze visual-literary texts in their historical contexts as both literature and art. Taught in English.

Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 3110 (5) Advanced Japanese 1

Enhances student competence and performance in Japanese language in a holistic and integrative manner.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 2120 (minimum grade C).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 3120 (5) Advanced Japanese 2

Continuation of JPNS 3110. Enhances student competence and performance in Japanese language in a holistic and integrative manner.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 3110 (minimum grade C).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 3200 (3) Adv Wrtg Topics on Chinese & Japanese Literature and Civilization

Provides an introduction to the academic study of Chinese and Japanese literature and culture with a focus on writing skills in English through a survey of standard academic writing conventions. Review and assessment of selected textual materials, class presentation, critique, and revision. Recommended for majors. Taught in English.

Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: CHIN 3200
Requisites: Restricted to students with a minimum of 45 credits completed.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Written Communication
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Written Communication-Upper
Departmental Category: Chinese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 3311 (3) Japanese Minority and Transnational Literature

Explores the diversity and complexity of literature produced in the 20th and 21st century by Japanese racial, ethnic, and other minorities. We will examine works by Chinese, Korean, Ainu, Okinawan and Taiwanese writers, as well as writers from the Japanese diaspora in North and South America. Topics include empire, migration, colonialism, race, and indigenous identity. Taught in English.

Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English

JPNS 3321 (3) Japanese Sci-Fi and Speculative Fiction

Examines the genres of fantasy and sci-fi across Japanese media, including literature, film, anime, and manga. We will consider what the Japanese speculative imagination about different worlds can teach us, and consider subgenres of cyberpunk, space opera, mythological fantasy, cli-fi, and feminist speculation. Taught in English.

Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English

JPNS 3331 (3) Business Japanese

Designed to teach Japanese with emphasis on using Japanese for professional purposes. The course aims to foster the skills and the knowledge of effective cross-cultural and interpersonal communication in Japanese and to develop intercultural competence in business contexts.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 2120 (minimum grade C).
Recommended: Prerequisite JPNS 3110.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 3511 (3) Paper Worlds, Screen Worlds: Contemporary Japanese Literature

Explores Japanese literature from the 1980s to the present day, also drawing on film, manga, and visual media. Topics covered include the rise of electronic media, video games, responses to disasters, social deviance, sexualities and bodies, and imaginations of the future. Taught in English.

Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English

JPNS 3611 (3) Speaking the Truth: Women's Counter-narratives of Korea and Japan

Explores the rich history of women¿s writing in premodern Japan and Korea, focusing on works produced by and for women in vernacular scripts (kana and han'g¿l) during the Heian (794-1185), Kamakura (1185-1333), and Chos¿n (1392-1910) periods. Topics covered include the textual construction and subversion of idealized femininity, the representation of women's real lived experiences, and the subjective nature of historical truth.

Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: KREN 3611
Recommended: Prerequisite JPNS 1012, JPNS 1051 or KREN 1011.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-Global Perspective

JPNS 3811 (3) The World of the Shining Prince: The Tale of Genji and Heian Literature

An exploration of the literary landscape of Classical Japan focusing on The Tale of Genji (early 11th century), a brilliantly provocative work of fiction sometimes called ¿the world¿s first novel.¿ Covers the extensive world drawn within Genji and provides context for understanding its origins and reception through readings of other important works of Heian-era (794-1185) literature. Taught in English; no prior knowledge of Japanese language, culture, or history is necessary or expected.

Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: HUMN 3811
Recommended: Prerequisite JPNS 1051.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 3821 (3) Monsters, Monks, and Mayhem: Medieval Japanese Literature in Translation

Surveys the major works and authors of medieval Japanese (poetry, prose, and drama) from the Kamakura and Muromachi periods (1185-1600). Taught in English.

Recommended: Prerequisite JPNS 1051.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 3831 (3) The Floating World in the Literature of Early Modern Japan

Explores the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century concept of the ¿floating world¿ of fleeting urban pleasures in the fiction, drama, and ukiyo-e art of Tokugawa-period Japan, focusing on the great city centers of Edo and Osaka and their celebrity courtesans, kabuki actors, and samurai devotees. Taught in English; no prior knowledge of Japanese language, culture, or history is necessary or expected.

JPNS 3841 (3) Transforming Worlds: Japanese Literature in Modernity

Explores works of modern Japanese literature from the late 1800s to 1970s, placing novels, short stories, and poetry in their historical and cultural contexts. Topics covered include literary responses to Japan¿s modernisation and encounters with the West, the individual in society, mass culture and popular literature, the rise of fascism and colonialism, and visual media, including film. Taught in English.

Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: HUMN 3841
Recommended: Prerequisite JPNS 1051.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 3851 (3) Japanese Popular Culture

Introduces aspects of Japanese popular culture from the early 1990s economic collapse until the present through a variety of artistic mediums including manga, anime, literature, live-action cinema, video gaming, music, and the visual arts. Taught in English.

Requisites: Restricted to students with 27-180 credits (Sophomores, Juniors or Seniors).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 3861 (3) Imagining the Samurai in Japanese Literature and Culture

Explores the rich history of samurai in the Japanese popular imagination, from fiction and drama to cinema and the visual arts. Encompasses both fantastical and realistic representations of warrior culture from the twelfth through twentieth centuries. Taught in English; no prior knowledge of Japanese language, culture, or history is necessary or expected.

Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 3871 (3) Horror and the Macabre in Japanese Literature, Film, Culture

Explores Japanese horror texts from both the pre-modern and modern eras in a variety of genres, including the monogatari, kaidan, kabuki, contemporary horror fiction, film and anime. Texts will be considered in historical and cultural context with attention being given to interactions with and within popular culture. Taught in English.

Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 3881 (3) Environment, Nature and Disaster in Japanese Literature and Culture

Explores the significance of the environment, nature and disaster in Japanese literature and culture through readings in a variety of genres, including fiction, essay, poetry, sci-fi, film and anime. Attention will also be given to environmental/ecological issues, such as conservation, pollution, biodiversity and industrial development. Taught in English.

Additional Information: Arts Sci Core Curr: Literature and the Arts
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-Global Perspective
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 3891 (3) Travel/Travel Writing in Japanese Literature and Culture

Explores selected Japanese literary and cultural texts that treat travel and travel writing, including short and long fiction, poetry, memoir, nonfiction, biography and travel commentary. Taught in English.

Recommended: Prerequisite JPNS 1051.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-Global Perspective
Departmental Category: Japanese Courses in English
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 4030 (3) Japanese Syntax

Deals with syntactic phenomena from five areas of Japanese grammar that cause the most difficulty for learners. Their characteristics are explored in forms and discoursal functions that go beyond the explanations in basic, prescriptive grammars of Japanese.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 3120 or JPNS 4120 (minimum grade C).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 4050 (3) Japanese Sociolinguistics

Explores issues related to contemporary Japanese language and society, such as language and identity, language and ideology, and language variation and change in Japan. More specifically, we will reconsider topics such as diversity in gender language, honorifics, dialects, and use of English in Japanese society that have been unidirectionally taught in Japanese language classrooms. The course aims to provide students opportunities to incorporate critical perspectives of sociolinguistics into analyses of Japanese literature and Japanese language education.

Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: LING 4050
Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 3110 (minimum grade C).
Grading Basis: Letter Grade
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Arts Sci Gen Ed: Diversity-Global Perspective
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 4080 (3) Kanji in Japanese Orthography

Covers the issues in kanji research from historical, sociolinguistic, linguistic, cognitive perspective and vocabulary acquisition theories in the context of teaching and learning the Japanese language.

Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: JPNS 5080
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 4110 (3) Advanced Readings in Modern Japanese 1

Surveys a variety of material written in modern Japanese, including texts from literature, the social sciences, religion, and cultural history. Emphasizes content and style. Texts and selections vary from year to year.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 3120 (minimum grade C).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 4120 (3) Advanced Readings in Modern Japanese 2

Continuation of JPNS 4110. Texts and selections vary from year to year.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 4110 (minimum grade C).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 4300 (3) Open Topics: Readings in Japanese

Examines selected texts on a particular topic taught by regular or visiting faculty. Topics change each term.

Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 4310 (3) Classical Japanese 1

Introduces reference tools for reading classical Japanese, and grammar, vocabulary, and use of scripts in premodern Japanese, focusing on the 10th century Taketori Monogatari and the 13th century Hojoki.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 3110 (minimum grade C).
Recommended: Prerequisites JPNS 3120 and JPNS 3811 and JPNS 3821.
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 4320 (3) Classical Japanese 2

Continuation of JPNS 4310. Surveys changes in Japanese literary language from the Nara (eighth century) to Meiji (late 19th century) periods. Attention given to changes in grammar, vocabulary, and use of scripts in premodern Japanese. Introduces representative works of classical Japanese literature of all periods.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 4310 (minimum grade C).
Additional Information: Arts Sci Gen Ed: Distribution-Arts Humanities
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 4900 (1-3) Independent Study

Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Additional Information: Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 4950 (3) Honors Thesis

Additional Information: Arts Sciences Honors Course
Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 5010 (3) Bibliography and Research Methods

Introduces research materials on Japan in Japanese and Western languages, including bibliographic tools, style sheets, and library resources. Overview of secondary sources and publication outlets/methods of disseminating research.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Additional Information: Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 5080 (3) Kanji in Japanese Orthography

Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: JPNS 4080
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Additional Information: Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 5150 (3) Japanese Literary Translation

Explores theories and practice of translation of literary texts as applied to Japanese-English translation; strategies for handling a variety of texts; and professional standards and ethics.

Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours. Allows multiple enrollment in term.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Additional Information: Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 5210 (3) Classical Prose Literature

Examines selected prose works and authors from the Classical, or Heian, period (784-1185). Texts may include selections from diaries, tale literature, and zuihitsu such as Izumi Shikibu Nikki, Genji Monogatari, and Makura no Soshi. Texts and selections vary from year to year. Knowledge of Classical Japanese at the level of JPNS 4320 is required.

Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 6.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Additional Information: Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 5220 (3) Waka, Renga, and Haiku

Studies the three most important poetic forms in Japanese literary history. Emphasizes the reading and analysis of selected texts and authors that best represent these genres. Readings include selections from the first eight imperial poetry anthologies (hachidaishu), famous renga sequences (Minase Sangin Hyakuin, for example), and the haiku of Basho. Texts and selections vary from year to year. Knowledge of Classical Japanese at the level of JPNS 4320 is required.

JPNS 5270 (3) Readings in Sino-Japanese Texts

Provides a foundation in glossing (kundoku), interpreting, and translating of Sino-Japanese (kanbun) texts. Cultivates a general understanding of practices surrounding the reading and writing of kanbun in various periods and examines unique elements of kanbun texts as produced within Japan.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Recommended: Prerequisite JPNS 5310 or equivalent.

JPNS 5280 (3) Topics in Classical Japanese Literature

Studies a specific problem or issue in classical (eighth through twelfth century) Japanese literature, e.g., the development of specifically Japanese theories of literature or the concept of genre in the Japanese tradition. Topics vary from year to year.

JPNS 5310 (3) Advanced Classical Japanese 1

Focuses on stylistic, grammatical, and orthographic variations in texts of the classical, medieval, and early modern eras. Knowledge of Classical Japanese at the level of JPNS 4310 is required.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Additional Information: Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 5320 (3) Advanced Classical Japanese 2

Advanced analysis of stylistic, grammatical, and orthographic variations in texts of the classical, medieval, and early modern eras, including kanbun and hentaigana; translation and explication of texts.

Requisites: Requires prerequisite course of JPNS 5310 (minimum grade C). Restricted to graduate students only.
Additional Information: Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 5410 (3) Medieval Prose Literature

Focuses on selected prose works and authors from the medieval, or Kamakura and Muromachi periods (1185-1600). Texts may include selections from a variety of war tales, histories, courtly fiction, diaries, memoirs, short prose narratives (otogi-zoshi), Noh plays, and Buddhist literature such as Heike Monogatari, Towazugatari, Izayoi Nikki, Tsurezuregusa, and Shasekishu. Texts and selections vary from year to year. Knowledge of Classical Japanese at the level of JPNS 4320 is required.

JPNS 5420 (3) Japanese Buddhism and Literature

Studies selected works from the Japanese literary tradition in which Buddhism plays a significant thematic role. Focuses on texts such as the Nihon Ryoiki, Buddhist poetry (Shakkyo-Ka) from the imperial poetry anthologies, Heike Monogatari, Hojoki, the poetry of Saigyo and Basho, and selected Noh plays. Texts and selections vary from year to year. Knowledge of Classical Japanese at the level of JPNS 4320 is required.

JPNS 5480 (3) Topics in Medieval Literature

Focuses on a specific problem or issue in medieval literature, e.g., the spread of literary composition beyond the court. Topics vary from year to year.

JPNS 5620 (3) Early Modern Japanese Literature and Culture

Examines the literature, arts, drama and culture of Japan's early modern period in the original language, as well as secondary scholarship and methodologies for pursuing work on early modern materials. Genres covered include kana-zoshi, uklyo-zoshi, dangibon, yomihon, sharebon, kibyoshi, ninjobon, kokkelbon, gokan, halkai, senryo, kyoka, joruri, kabuki, and literary thought.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Additional Information: Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 5810 (3) Modern Japanese Literature

Studies selected texts in Japanese literature from the Meiji Restoration (1868) to the end of the Pacific War. Surveys various literary genres, emphasizing the development of the modern novel as an aspect of Japan's response to Western cultural forms. The unique cultural politics of each of the periods (Meiji,Taisho, and Showa) are illuminated through the filter of both canonical and more marginalized texts. Specific selections vary from year to year.

JPNS 5820 (3) Contemporary Japanese Literature

Covers developments in Japanese prose fiction and/or other literary genres from the end of the Pacific War in 1945 to the present.

JPNS 5830 (3) Readings in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Thought and Culture

Examines central issues in Japanese culture and society since the Meiji Restoration (1868) through selected readings of the works of major writers in the fields of literature, anthropology, feminism, political science, and religion, among others. Provides a broad context for cultural studies in modern and contemporary Japan by positioning the most important commentators within their historical and social situations.

JPNS 5900 (1-6) Independent Study

JPNS 5920 (3) Topics in Modern Literature and Culture

Close study of a specific problem or issue in modern or contemporary literature or culture: e.g., transwar literary nationalism.

JPNS 5980 (1) Practical Issues in Japanese Language Pedagogy

Focuses on practical issues in Japanese language pedagogy for students who will serve as teaching assistants in Japanese language class. Examines the connection between theory and practice as well as practical methods for teaching Japanese. Discusses how to teach Japanese as a second language in a communicative approach and how to assess student language learning. Knowledge of Modern Japanese at the level of JPNS 4120 is required.

Equivalent - Duplicate Degree Credit Not Granted: JPNS 4980
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Additional Information: Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 6900 (1-6) Japanese Independent Study

JPNS 6940 (1) Master's Candidate for Degree

Registration intended for students preparing for a thesis defense, final examination, culminating activity, or completion of degree.

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Additional Information: Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 6950 (1-6) Master's Thesis

Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Additional Information: Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content

JPNS 8990 (1-10) Doctoral Dissertation

All doctoral students must register for no fewer than 30 hours of dissertation credit as part of the requirements for the degree. For a detailed discussion of doctoral dissertation credit, refer to the Graduate School section.

Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 30.00 total credit hours.
Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.
Additional Information: Departmental Category: Japanese
Departmental Category: Asia Content