Japanese

Courses
Japanese Curriculum

This is a complete list of REALC Japanese courses. To find out which courses are being offered in the current semester, see our listing in the Course Atlas.

Note to Prospective Students

If you have studied Japanese elsewhere and would like to continue your Japanese language study at Emory, you must take a placement test to help find the appropriate course for you. You are encouraged to contact Noriko Takeda ntakeda@emory.edu before the beginning of the semester to arrange to take the test. The placement test consists of a written exam and an interview.

Japanese Program Courses - Complete Listing

JPN 101. Elementary Japanese I
Fall. This course is designed to introduce students to the everyday language of Japan. Lessons will be organized around natural conversational topics, leading students from fundamental aspects of grammar to readings in simple texts.

JPN 102. Elementary Japanese II
Spring. Continuation of Japanese 101. Students will learn vocabulary, expressions, and sentence structures to become able to meet basic communication needs in Japanese. All four skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) will be incorporated, and accurate and appropriate language use will be emphasized.

JPN 190. Freshman Seminar. Topics in Japanese Culture
Fall or spring as needed. Focus on special aspects of Japanese culture or language.

JPN 201. Intermediate Japanese I
Fall. Continuation of Japanese 102. This course aims to further develop language skills and increase familiarity with Japanese society. The emphasis is on accurate communication in Japanese, both spoken and written, that is appropriate to the given context.

JPN 202. Intermediate Japanese II
Spring. Continuation of Japanese 201. This course is designed to complete the introduction and practice of basic grammar of Japanese. More authentic language material will be introduced.

JPN 232. Language Usage in Japanese Society
Prerequisite: Japanese 201 or consent of instructor. Provides an in-depth knowledge of the Japanese language in relation to culture and society, focusing on Japanese modes of thinking that lie behind language usage. Taught in English.

JPN 234: Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
(Same as ASIA 234, LING 234.) No prerequisite. This course examines aspects of Japanese language from a linguistic perspective. It will introduce basic concepts in linguistics such as phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics, using examples from Japanese language. It aims to provide opportunities to deepen the understanding of the Japanese language, as well as to deepen the understanding of world languages by examining Japanese.

JPN 270. Introduction to Japanese Culture
(Same as ASIA 270WR.) This course explores various aspects of life and society in Japan, including writing, gender, memory and history, geography and the environment, aesthetics, and the formation of national identity. Satisfies General Education Requirement area V.C (non-Western cultures) and post-freshman writing requirement.

JPN 301. Advanced Conversation and Composition I
Fall. Prerequisite: Japanese 202 or consent of instructor. This course is designed to develop fluency in spoken Japanese as well as enhance writing skills. Cross-cultural awareness will be emphasized and close attention will be paid to developing sophisticated expressions and nuances in the language.

JPN 302. Advanced Conversation and Composition II
Spring. Prerequisite: Japanese 301 or consent of instructor. This course provides opportunities for reading authentic materials and discussion on the content of the materials, as well as for learning how to write with systematic instruction on composition. Students will write essays on chosen topics such as jibun-shi (autobiography). Satisfies General Education Requirement post-freshman writing requirement.

JPN 360. Seminar on Japanese Modern Women Writers
Though Japanese women produced much of the great literature of the classical period (ca. 1000), literary production by women subsequently dwindled, to gain new life only in the modern era. This course familiarizes students with the multiplicity of the female voices that (re-)emerged in Japanese literature from the Meiji period (beginning 1868) to the late twentieth century. Texts are in English translation.

JPN 361. The Genji: Sensuality and Salvation
(Same as ASIA 361WR, WS 361WR.) This course will use the text of the Tale of Genji as a centerpoint from which to explore various issues in poetry, aesthetics, the visual arts, religion, history, politics, and gender in Japanese cultural history.

JPN 362: Samurai, Shoguns and Women Warriors
Fall or spring. An examination of the image of the warrior in Japan through literature and its effect on many areas of Japanese culture, including philosophy, literary history, religion, music, the visual arts. Emphasis is on the exploration of primary texts. Satisfies General Education Requirement post-freshman writing requirement.

JPN 363. Literary and Visual Culture in Japan
(Same as ASIA 363WR, ARTHIST 363WR.) Fall or spring. An exploration of the complex interactions between written texts and the visual arts in Japan from the classical era to the present. Discussion will include prose, poetry, printing, picture scrolls, calligraphy, woodblock prints, and film.

JPN 372. Introduction to Modern Japanese Literature in Translation
(Same as ASIA 372WR.) Surveys Japanese literature from the mid-19th century to the present. Introduces the nature and range of literary genres as they developed in the context of Japan's confrontation with modernity. The course opens for discussion issues in contemporary literary theory in order to understand aspects of Japanese literature and culture, such as gender, nationalism, intertextuality, Orientalism, and identity. Texts are in English translation.

JPN 374. Japanese Literature: Reading and Writing the Classics
A survey of Japanese literature in translation from the 8th through the 21st centuries in which students both read representative works from various genres in the Japanese canon and writing in those genres themselves. Texts are in English translation.

JPN 375. Special Topics/Japan
Fall or Spring. Variable credit. An interdisciplinary course that introduces students to Japanese culture. No knowledge of Japanese is required.

JPN 397. Directed Reading
Fall or spring. Approval by department is required. Variable credit.

JPN 378: Postwar Japan Through Its Media
Spring. This course examines the way the postwar Japanese experience has been reflected (and constructed) through various types of popular media. Through film, television, magazines, newspapers, music, and manga, we will explore the various ways in which Japanese society has narrated its experiences of recovery and rebuilding after World War II, and the role these media sources have played in this reconstruction. Whenever possible, class discussions will incorporate methodologies of cultural criticism that elaborate the relationships between media, representation, and national or racial identity.

JPN 401. Advanced Language and Cultural Studies I
Fall. Prerequisite: Japanese 302 or consent of instructor. Conducted in Japanese, the course focuses upon Japanese culture through readings and discussion of literary texts and materials from current periodicals and newspapers. Satisfies General Education Requirement post-freshman writing requirement.

JPN 402. Advanced Language and Cultural Studies II
Spring. Prerequisites: Japanese 401 or consent of instructor. This course will provide exposure to business and technical Japanese. Students will practice formal styles of communication and read texts with technical orientation. In addition, basic skills of translation will be introduced. The course is conducted solely in Japanese.

JPN 403. Advanced Language and Cultural Studies III
Fall or spring. Prerequisite: Japanese 402 or consent of instructor.

JPN 404. Advanced Language and Cultural Studies IV
Fall or spring.

JPN 495A/B. Japanese Honors
Contact the department for further information. Approval by department is required.

JPN 496R. Japanese Language Internship
Fall or spring. Approval by department is required. Variable credit.

 

 

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