University of Nevada, Reno
Summer 2014
JPN221: JAPAN & ITS CULTURE
COURSE SYLLABUS
Instructor
Yoshie Kadowaki
Office address & contacts
Office Hours
EJCH 235 F
Phone: 682-8886
E-mail: via Web Campus
Use yoshie@unr.edu ONLY when WebCampus
doesn’t work.)
M-F 12:00-1:00pm
By appointment
TIME: 9:00AM- 12:00PM
MTWRF
LOCATION: EJCH240M
REQUIRED TEXTS
Roger J. Davies
The Japanese Mind
Paul Varley
Japanese Culture
Additional readings on UNR library (e-reserve) and on WebCampus including…
-
SHINTO – the Kami Way –
Japanese Buddhism: a cultural History
Anthology of Japanese Literature
A Brief History of Japanese Civilization
Sources of Japanese Tradition
Shutting out the Sun
Modern Japanese Culture
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVE
In the new Silver Core, this course will satisfy CO11 Global Contexts: Students will apply and
evaluate modes of academic inquiry, creative expression, or results of research to problems in
historical and contemporary global contexts. Students will articulate connections among local,
national, and international contexts and evaluate the ways that historical and contemporary
global influences affect their current situations.
How this course will satisfy this core objective:
This course will explore general aspects of Japanese culture from its historical, sociological,
psychological, and philosophical point of view through readings and class discussions. Students
will critically reflect on their learning and life experiences by developing an understanding of
Japanese history, society, culture, and their viewpoints. Through readings, lectures, and class
discussions, students will evaluate the ways that historical and contemporary global influences
affect current Japan-U.S. situations.
The Student Learning Outcomes are as follows:
Students will be able to:
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demonstrate knowledge of the history, customs, values, and other cultural aspects of Japan
and Japanese people, and analyze how they compare to the U.S.
describe and analyze the perceptions, viewpoints, and life experiences of people in Japan.
compare and contrast cultural aspects (including morals, biases, social norms, and world views) of
Japan with those of the United States
contextualize current events and experiences in relation to historical and current context
between Japan and the U.S.
demonstrate how local and global contexts of ideas or events result in nuanced or
conflicting understandings of contemporary and/or historical ideas, events, or experiences
How student learning outcomes related to this core objective will be assessed:
Students will write discussion paper on the readings to demonstrate their knowledge and
understanding of the course materials. Students will also be assessed on their in-class discussion
as a discussion leader, and also on quizzes and tests. Students will also produce detailed analysis
and reflection on the historical and contemporary life experiences in global context on their final
test. In addition, students will perform an oral presentation to demonstrate their knowledge and
interpretation on Japanese history, culture, society, etc. Grading rubrics will be provided to
ensure the measurability of the assessments, and the instructor will record the result.
ATTENDANCE/PARTICIPATION
10 pts x 15 days = 150pts
Attendance is mandatory, and punctuality is important. Information given at the lectures will not
necessarily be found in the materials assigned for reading. If a student misses a class for any
reason it is her/his responsibility to get notes for that day from another student in class. Students
are expected to finish the reading assignment(s) and be ready for the class discussion before
attending each class. Students will be evaluated on a daily basis whether s/he comes to class on
time, is prepared, and fully participates in discussion with a positive attitude. If you come to
class late, sleep in class, do not participate in discussion, and do not work with others in
productive/positive manner, etc, your Attendance/participation points will be lower.
Daily participation grading criteria
Comes to class on time; excellent preparation and participation in group/class discussion
by making references to the reading, raising interesting questions and sharing opinions;
pays full attention and keeps positive attitude during lectures and discussion
10
Less than 10min late to class; seems well prepared but not as active in discussion; pays
full attention and keeps positive attitude in class
8
More than 10min but less than 20 min late to class, somewhat participates in discussion,
but does not display excellent preparedness; pays full attention in class most of the time
but not all the time; spends a lot of time chatting about non-related subjects during
discussion
6
More than 20min late but less than an hour late; apparently did not do assigned readings;
poor participation in discussion; does not pay attention in class, shows negative attitude in
class (i.e. disruptive; disrespectful)
4
Absent; more than an hour late to class; sleeping in class; did not do assigned readings
and does not participate in discussion at all; study other class materials during
lecture/discussion; engages in non-class related activities such as using cell phone,
texting, playing games, listening to music, and surfing online, etc.
0
DISCUSSION LEADER
100pts x 2 = 200pts
In order to demonstrate your knowledge of the history and variety of cultural aspects from the
reading, you will lead small-group discussions as a discussion leader twice this. You will also
submit a 1 ½ page (single-spaced) discussion paper on 3 concepts/figures/events that you found
important/interesting from the assigned reading. The paper is due by the day you are assigned to
be the discussion leader and it needs to be submitted via WebCampus Assignment. Please
organize your paper in the following format:
1. “Title/name of the second concept”
A) Short (2-3 sentences) summary of the concept
B) Reason(s) why you find it interesting, how it compares to the U.S., how it
confirmed/changed your prior knowledge
C) 1-2 question(s) to raise to your group to discuss
2. “Title/name of the second concept”
A) Short (2-3 sentences) summary of the concept
B) Reason(s) why you find it interesting, how it compares to the U.S., how it
confirmed/changed your prior knowledge
C) 1-2 question(s) to raise to your group to discuss
3. “Title/name of the second concept”
A) Short (2-3 sentences) summary of the concept
B) Reason(s) why you find it interesting, how it compares to the U.S., how it
confirmed/changed your prior knowledge
C) 1-2 question(s) to raise to your group to discuss
Each section (1~3) should be total of ½ page in length (single-spaced).
My discussion leader days are....
1. Date: _____________
Assigned readings/video:__________________________________
2. Date: _____________
Assigned readings/video:__________________________________
In class, you will first share your thoughts about the reading, including the 3
concepts/figures/events that you thought were important and why you chose them. For each
concept, you will raise the questions that you prepared and lead the discussion in your
group. You should come up with thought-provoking questions rather than questions to simply
test your group’s knowledge from the reading. Also ask other students’ opinion on other
concepts in the reading that they found interesting/important. Each discussion leader will be
responsible for sharing what your group discussed to the whole class. See WebCampus for the
grading rubric.
DAILY WEBCAMPUS QUIZZES
5 pts x 23 = 115pts
There will be daily quizzes on WebCampus to evaluate your knowledge of the assigned
reading. Each quiz will expire an hour before the class that the readings are assigned.
TEST
150pts x 2 = 300pts
There will be one mid-term test that you will take on WebCampus, and one take-home essay/test
at the end of the term to evaluate your knowledge and analysis of the information you learned in
this class. Students must submit their essay via Assignment on WebCampus. No late submission
will be accepted.
PAPER (100pts) & PRESENTATION (50pts)
100pts + 50pts = 150pts
Each student is going to choose a topic from the list below. Each topic should have 2-3 students
to form a group. You will choose a subtopic within your group topic, and you will be
responsible to research on the subtopic of your choice.
Each of you will...
1) write a 3 page research paper (double-spaced) on the assigned subtopic. Submit your paper
and PPT slides (or alternative) via WebCampus Assignment by June 6th before class.
2) create a PPT presentation to put all of your information together and submit it to the instructor
via WebCampus Assignment.
As a group, you will...
3) combine all of your PPT presentations and create one presentation. You will do an in-class
presentation as a group on June 6th (Friday), but you will be mostly graded individually based on
the quality of your part of the presentation (5-6 min each = 15 min~20 min/group).
Possible students’ Paper/Presentation topics
- Movie History in Japan
- History of Animation
- History of Japanese Music
- Traditional Music Instruments (shamisen,
shakuhachi, koto, taiko)
- Technology (originated in Japan, used
uniquely in Japan, etc)
- Discrimination in Japan (Buraku, Ainu,
Okinawan, Chinese/Korean communities)
- Women in Japan
- Sports (baseball, marathon, kakutoogi)
- Do- Sports (Kendo, Judo, Aikido, Kyudo,
Iaido, Karate)
- Political system
- Japanese folk tales & ghost stories
- Crimes in Japan
- Architecture
- Arts in Japan
EXTRA
BOOK REVIEW
20pts
MOVIE REVIEW
15pts
Choose one Japanese literature and write one-page (font 12, single-spaced). You must submit the title of
the book by the end of the first week, and get an approval. Write one-page (font 12, single-spaced).
Your review(s) should include:
1. Overall evaluation of the book (rate 1 not good – 5 very good) – this should be the first thing you write
on your review.
2. Summary of the story, which describes main characters, setting, and a brief plotline
3. discussion on things you found interesting in the book, examples from the book that reflect Japanese
cultural aspects/values that we discussed in class, and your opinion whether or not you recommend the
book you reviewed and clear reasons why. Keep in mind your audience here are students who wish to
learn about Japan and Japanese culture and you are supposed to evaluate the book/movie based on that
viewpoint instead of how entertaining they are. DUE: 5/30 (F)
GRADE
Final grades will be assigned as follows:
100-93
92-90%
89-86%
85-83%
82-80%
79-76%
75-73%
72-70%
69-66%
65-63%
62-60%
<59%
A(4.0)
A-(3.7)
B+(3.3)
B(3)
B-(2.7)
C+(2.3)
C(2)
C-(1.7)
D+(1.3)
D(1)
D-(0.7)
F (0)
Attendance/Participation
Discussion Leader
Daily Online Quiz (23)
Test (2)
Paper
Presentation
150 pts
200 pts
115 pts
300 pts
100 pts
50 pts
Total
915 pts
Extra credit
BOOK REVIEW
MOVIE REVIEW
FOOD DAY
20pts
15pts
10pts
REMINDERS
1. Although Japanese language is not required for this course, students may expect to
encounter Japanese words or phrases (written in romanization). They will be explained
in class when necessary. Students are also expected to recognize them when they appear
in the quiz/test.
2. “Incomplete” will be given only for legitimate non-academic reasons (as required by the
university policy). Make sure you know the last day to: drop mini-term classes; change
from credit to audit; withdraw from the course without a grade being recorded.
Disability Services: Any student with a disability needing academic adjustments or
accommodations is requested to speak with me or the Disability Resource Center (Thompson
Building Suite 100) as soon as possible to arrange for appropriate accommodations.
Academic Dishonesty: Any form of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this class. The
minimum penalty for academic dishonesty is an F in the course. See Student Handbook and
UNR Catalog for rules about and sanctions for academic dishonesty.
Audio and Video Recording: Surreptitious or covert video-taping of class or unauthorized
audio recording of class is prohibited by law and by Board of Regents policy. This class may be
videotaped or audio recorded only with the written permission of the instructor. In order to
accommodate students with disabilities, some students may have been given permission to
record class lectures and discussions. Therefore, students should understand that their comments
during class may be recorded.
Tentative Schedule
Day 1 5/19 (M)
Syllabus/ Introduction
Introduction (up to Nara Period)
Day 2 5/20 (T)
Japanese Mind: Amae, Aimai, Chinmoku
Quiz 1 due before class
Buddhism/Shintoism
Quiz 2 due before class
Day 3 5/21 (W)
Heian Period
Quiz 3 due before class
Heian Culture
Quiz 4 due before class
Day 4 5/22 (Th) Kamakura/Muromachi period
Quiz 5 due before class
Surviving Traditional Arts, Literature
Quiz 6 due before class
Day 5 5/23 (F)
Gift-giving
Quiz 7 due before class
Azuchi-Momoyama period
Quiz 8 due before class
Presentation/ Paper topic & outline Due
Last day to sign-up for book/ movie review
Day 6 5/26 (M)
Memorial Day (No Class)
Day 7 5/27 (T)
Edo period
Quiz 9 due before class
Game Day (Traditional games and games in the modern days,
Calligraphy, Origami)
Quiz 10 due before class
Day 8 5/28 (W)
Edo Culture/ Japanese Traditional Arts
Quiz 11 due before class
Meiji Period
Quiz 12 due before class
Day 9 5/29 (Th) Taisho, Showa period (During war)
Quiz 13 due before class
Japanese Family
Quiz 14 due before class
Day
10
5/30 (F)
Showa period (Post-war)
Quiz 15 due before class
Current Social Issues in Japan 1
Quiz 16 due before class
Book review & Movie review Due
Midterm (WebCampus, opens 5/31 12:00 and closes 6/3 8:00am)
Day
11
6/2 (M)
Food, Etiquette, gestures
Quiz 17 due before class
Education system in Japan
Quiz 18 due before class
Day
12
6/3 (T)
Sports in Japan
Quiz 19 due before class
Japanese Language
Quiz 20 due before class
Day
13
6/4 (W)
Current Social Issues in Japan 2
Quiz 21 due before class
Ceremony: Funeral, Wedding
Quiz 22 due before class
Day
14
6/5 (Th)
Pop-culture (pop-music, manga, anime, game)
Quiz 23 due before class
Japanese Entertainment
Quiz 24 due before class
Day
15
6/6 (F)
Presentation + Japanese Food Day
Presentation Paper & Powerpoint slide due before class
Final Exam Due by 5:00 pm