All Courses
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JS2230 Itadakimasu - Food In Japan [2220]
This module exposes students to country and culture of Japan using food as its analytic focal point. In the section on historical, political and economic perspectives, students will uncover the ways that food in Japan influences state policies, creates international conflicts and contributes to the formation of national identity. In the section on socio-cultural perspectives, students will learn to evaluate the ways that food creates meaning in such realms as language, education, media programming, and religious practices. Concepts covered in this course will be applicable to a broad range of phenomenon outside of Japan and outside the topic of food.
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JS2233 Idols and Celebrities in Japan and Korea [2220]
Idols and celebrities are an integral, highly visible and pervasive part of contemporary Japanese and Korean culture. As the most prominent characteristic of Japanese and Korean media and cultural industries, idols have also come to saturate the everyday lives of people outside of Japan and Korea, especially in the wake of the Japan mania, Cool Japan campaigns, and the Korean waves. Through an interdisciplinary approach—combining Japanese and Korean studies, cultural studies, media studies, and celebrity studies—this module examines the idol phenomenon in Japan and Korea. Students will be introduced to key concepts in the study of idols and celebrities, and address the production, representation, circulation and consumption of idols and celebrities in contemporary Japan and Korea (and beyond) within their historical, social, political and economic contexts. By the end of the module, students will not only gain a deeper understanding of Japanese and Korean society, they will also gain conceptual and analytical tools for understanding today’s global media landscape.
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JS3223 Japan and the Asia-Pacific Region [2220]
This seminar aims to develop students’ understanding of Japan's external relations with other nations in the Asia-Pacific region. The topics include Japan’s political, economic and security relations with the neighboring states, Japan’s regional engagement and institution-building, cross-border migration, territorial disputes, and contentious historical issues, among others. On successful completion of the module, students should be able to: (a) identify, understand, and discuss – orally and in writing – major contemporary issues in Japanese external relations; (b) place them in a modern historical context; and (c) analyze them with theoretical frameworks and concepts from international relations.
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JS4207/JS4207HM Readings in Modern Japanese [2220]
This module aims to develop a reasonable level of fluency in reading such contemporary Japanese materials as academic writing, dialogues involving colloquial speech, and sophisticated analyses of Japanese culture, society, and current affairs. Attention will also be given to developing various reading related skills depending on the purpose of reading: i.e., close reading, rapid reading, summarizing, and translation. The module will also involve practice in using a library search engine to find relevant literature of particular interest. The goal of the module is for you to be able to find and use relevant Japanese materials for your honor’s thesis or a term paper.