UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
COVER SHEET FOR A NEW OR REVISED COURSE
Section A
Course title
Classical Japanese Fiction 4
Teaching Unit (eg
Department)
Asian Studies
Course code
U04945
School
Literatures, Languages
and Cultures
Collaborating Body eg Department
or other Institution
Replacement course
UG
PG
New course
Revised course
Yes No
(√)
(√)
()
()
()
If Replacement course, give
Name of Course
Code
details of course (s) which this
Classical Japanese Literature 4
U01752
course replaces
No. SCQF credit
20
Level eg
8
Credit
points
SCQF 8
points
No.
No. of
Scheduled class hours - include day, start
Scheduled
Hours
weeks
and finish times and term
Teaching
per week
Monday 14.00-15.50
Contact Teaching
2
11
Semester 1
Other required
attendance
Course operational with effect
2010/2011
from (date)
Any costs which may have to be met by students eg materials
Give details of any Prerequisite Course(s)
Normally successful completion of either:
1) East Asian Civilization 1 (U03806) OR East Asian Civilization 1A (U03807) OR East Asian
Civilization 1B (U03808); AND East Asian Civilization 2 (U04114) OR Pre-modern East Asia
to 1600 (U04942)
Or:
2) Two literature-based courses offered in the first and second years in School of Literatures,
Languages and Cultures
Name of Course (s)
Course Code (s)
Give details of programme(s) for which the course is mandatory
Programme Code(s)
Name of Programme (s)
Course(s) which cannot be taken with this course and counted towards a minimum qualifying curriculum
Name of Course (s)
Course Code (s)
Short description of course
The course aims to introduce students to Japan's narrative traditions and to develop their critical
awareness of classical Japanese fiction in terms of the indigenous literary and critical traditions
and in comparison with Western literary works and thinking.
The course will centre on two major long works of fiction, the Tale of Genji and the Tale of the
Heike, but will also touch upon other works that illustrate important developments in classical
Japanese fiction. These works will be examined primarily from a literary perspective, but their
implications for scholarship of Japanese history and society and their influence upon other
Japanese arts, will also be considered.
URL for supporting course
documentation
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes



On successful completion of the course students will be able to:
Demonstrate critical awareness of classical Japanese fiction in terms of the indigenous
literary and critical traditions and in comparison with Western literary works and
thinking
Communicate information and ideas effectively in essay form and through oral
presentations and discussion
Components of Assessment
2,500 word essay (40%)
Class participation (10%)
Degree examination (50%)
Approval Track
Approved by Teaching Unit or equivalent
body eg department
Approved by Board of Studies (or
equivalent body)
Noted/Approved by Faculty
Approved by UGSC/SPGSC
Date
Authorised signature
Registry Use
Name
Designation
Date received
Date record created
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
COVER SHEET FOR A NEW OR REVISED COURSE
Section B
ALL COURSES
Course organiser, if known. If not known, give interim contact
Name:
Dr Helen S E Parker
Tel:
650 4230
Secretarial/administrative contact in Teaching Unit
Name:
Email:
Helen.Parker@ed.ac.uk
Mr David Horn
Tel:
650 4227
Email: David.Horn@ed.ac.uk
If the course will appear in a departmental
website, please give the URL
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES ONLY
Year in which the course is normally taken in a structured Honours programme ()
1
1 or 2
2
2 or 3
3
3 or 4
4
√
4 or 5
5
Year in which the course is normally taken in a modular or non Honours programme ()
1
1 or 2
2
2 or 3
3
3 or 4
4
4 or 5
5
1 or 2 or 3
or 4 or 5
Are class exams required ? ()
Yes
No
No. of exam papers required (eg how many papers
No. exam papers
Duration
will each student be required to answer)
Class Exams
Degree Exams
When are the exams to be taken ()
May
√
June
June
Sept
1st attempt
Resit
Has a quota for the course been approved by Faculty? ()
Yes
No
If yes, what is the maximum number of students permitted?
Bibliography
Bargen, Doris G. A Woman ’ s Weapon: Spirit Possession in the Tale of Genji.
Honolulu: Hawaii UP 1997.
Butler, Kenneth Dean. “The Textual Evolution of The Heike Monogatari” in Harvard
Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 26 (1966), pp. 5-51.
Joseph, Herbert S. “The Heike Monogatari: Buddhist Ethics and the Code of the
Samurai,” in Folklore, Vol. 87, No. 1 (1976), pp. 96-104
Keene, Donald. “A Neglected Chapter. Courtly Fiction of the Kamakura Period,” in
Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 44, No. 1 (Spring, 1989), pp. 1-30.
McCullough, Helen Craig, tr. The Tale of the Heike. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP 1988.
McCullough, Helen Craig. Yoshitsune: A Fifteenth-century Japanese Chronicle.
Tokyo and Stanford: University of Tokyo Press and Stanford University Press, 1966.
Murasaki Shikibu, tr. Edward G Seidensticker, The Tale of Genji. London: Secker
and Warburg, 1976.
Murasaki Shikibu tr. Royall Tyler. The Tale of Genji. New York: Viking 2001.
Murasaki Shikibu, tr. Richard Bowring, The Diary of Lady Murasaki. London:
Penguin 1996.
Puette, William J. A Reader’s Guide: The Tale of Genji. Tokyo: Charles E Tuttle
1983.
Rowley, G.G. Yosano Akiko and the Tale of Genji. Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese
Studies, University of Michigan, 2000
Shirane, Haruo. Envisioning the Tale of Genji: Media, Gender and Cultural
Production. New York: Columbia UP, 2008/
Shirane Haruo and Tomi Suzuki, eds. Inventing the Classics: Modernity, National
Identity and Japanese Literature. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP 2000.
Varley, Paul. Warriors of Japan As Portrayed in the War Tales. Honolulu: University
of Hawai’i Press 1994.
Classical Japanese Fiction 4: U04945
20-credit 4th year Honours course
Course code: U04945
Course organiser: Dr Helen S E Parker
A. Rationale
This course is proposed as a result the review of the Japanese MA Honours
programme outlined in the May 2009 plan for Asian Studies. In response to both
student and staffing needs, we propose to replace the existing disciplinarily based
courses with a new set of 20-credit, one-semester courses, each with a total of 22
teaching hours. Not all of these courses will run every year: they will be alternated to
accommodate sabbatical leave and individual teaching commitments. We will
continue to require students to complete 60 credits of disciplinary courses, so a
minimum of three 20-credit courses or two 20-credit courses plus two 10-credit
courses will run in each year. Once the new courses are in place, information will
normally be available to students at least two years in advance (i.e., before leaving
Edinburgh, second year students due to go to Japan will receive information on which
courses will run in their fourth year.)
B1: Course aims and objectives
The course aims to introduce students to Japan's narrative traditions and to develop
their critical awareness of classical Japanese fiction in terms of the indigenous literary
and critical traditions and in comparison with Western literary works and thinking.
The course will centre on two major long works of fiction, the Tale of Genji and the
Tale of the Heike, but will also touch upon other works that illustrate important
developments in classical Japanese fiction. These works will be examined primarily
from a literary perspective, but their implications for scholarship of Japanese history
and society, and their influence upon other Japanese arts, will also be considered
B2. Intended learning outcomes
On successful completion of the course students will be able to:
 Demonstrate critical awareness of classical Japanese fiction in terms of the
indigenous literary and critical traditions and in comparison with Western literary
works and thinking
 Communicate information and ideas effectively in essay form and through oral
presentations and discussion
C. Student intake
The course is open to students in the Honours years or on the third year of the BA
General who have completed either:
1) East Asian Civilization 1 (U03806) OR East Asian Civilization 1A (U03807)
OR (U03808); AND East Asian Civilization 2 (U04114) OR Pre-modern East
Asia to 1600 (U04942)
2) Two literature-based courses offered in the first and second years in the
School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures
This group includes, but is not confined to, final year students on the MA Honours in
Japanese and MA Honours in Japanese and Linguistics programmes, and it is
intended that the course be available as an outside course to qualified students
studying for other degrees.
D. Content of the course
The course will address the following topics:
 Japanese narrative traditions: recording, inventing and the significance of truth
 Writing in Chinese and Japanese and by men and women
 Women and writing at the Heian court; the Tale of Genji and its context;
influences of Genji on later fiction and other arts
 Changing perspectives on war tales (gunki monogatari): historical, political,
religious or aesthetic?
 The Tale of the Heike and its context; oral and textual tradition; relationship to
the performing arts; influences on later fiction and other arts
 Scholarship on classical Japanese fiction inside and outside Japan
 The continuing relevance of classical Japanese fiction in contemporary Japan
E. Organization of teaching
The course will be delivered in the form of a weekly two-hour session. The sessions
will consist of a combination of lecture-style presentations led by the instructor and
followed by discussion on the basis of assigned readings, and student presentations on
designated topics.
F. Student assessment and guidance
Student performance will be assessed by an essay of 3500 words (80%) and class
participation including a presentation and active contribution to discussion and other
class activities (20%). Students will receive written feedback on their essays, and.
individual consultations with staff teaching on the course will be available on request.
G. Feedback and evaluation
In line with the policy of the School and College, a formal questionnaire will be
circulated and collected at the end of the course. Course monitoring will also follow
the standard procedures. Students will be encouraged to give informal feedback on the
course individually or through their class representative.
H. Resource Requirements
There is some overlap in the content of this course and the current Classical Japanese
Literature in Translation, U01752, enabling reading assignments to be based largely
on existing library provision No significant new resources or additional funding will
be required.