ritual

Japanese

Japanese Major

Introduction

The major in Japanese develops specific skills and knowledge:  the ability to read and speak the Japanese language, a broad understanding of both traditional and modern Japanese culture, and a wide-ranging knowledge of Japanese literature and history.  Japan remains a major economic and cultural influence on a global scale, and proficiency in both the language and culture of Japan is an asset with many applications.  Students who complete the major, or who add Japanese as a second major, find themselves with enhanced competitiveness and increased opportunities in a wide range of career paths.  Employers in many fields value the highly developed verbal, written, and thinking skills and the cultural awareness and adaptability a major in Japanese provides.

Students in the major complete a core language sequence through third-year Japanese, a three-quarter upper-division survey of Japanese literature from earliest times to the modern period, and a variety of elective courses related to Japan in the social sciences and the humanities.  Fourth-year reading courses in Japanese and additional literature and culture courses taught in English round out the successful major in Japanese.  

Major Requirements
  Units
Lower Division - Required  

JPN 1, 2, and 3: Elementary Japanese

JPN 4, 5, and 6: Intermediate Japanese

Students who do not have a background in Japanese that allows them to place out of the above courses will need to take them.

 0 - 30
Lower Division - Recommended  
LIN 1: Introductory Linguistics (Linguistics) 4
HIS 9B: East Asian Civilizations 4
JPN 10: Masterworks of Japanese Literature 4
JPN 25:  Japanese Language and Culture 4
JPN 50: Introduction to the Literature of China and Japan 4
Upper Division - Required  

JPN 101, 102, and 103: Japanese Literature in Translation (Early, Middle and Modern Periods)

JPN 111, 112, and 113: Modern Japanese

JPN 151: Japanese Linguistics (required for all new majors starting Fall 2014)

 28
Upper Division - Electives  
  • COM 112: Japanese Cinema
  • JPN 104: Modern Japanese Literature: War and Revolution (3)
  • JPN 105: Modern Japanese Literature: Hero and Anti-hero (4)
  • JPN 106: Japanese Culture Through Film (4)
  • JPN 107: Modern Japanese Autobiographies (4)
  • JPN 108: Poetry of China and Japan (in English) (4)
  • JPN 109: Japanese Popular Culture (4)
  • JPN 114A, B or C: Spoken Japanese
  • JPN 115: Japanese Composition (2)
  • JPN 116: Culture and History in Kyoto (8)
  • JPN 121: Fourth-Year Advanced Japanese (4)
  • JPN 122: Fourth-Year Advanced Japanese (4)
  • JPN 123: Fourth-Year Advanced Japanese (4)
  • JPN 130: Readings in Modern Japanese Literature
  • JPN 131: Readings in Modern Japanese Literature: 1920-1945 (4)
  • JPN 132: Readings in Modern Japanese Literature: 1945-1970 (4)
  • JPN 133: Readings in Modern Japanese Literature: 1970 to Present (4)
  • JPN 134: Readings in the Humanities: Traditional Culture (4)
  • JPN 135: Readings in the Humanities: The Modern Period (4)
  • JPN 136: Readings in Newspapers and Magazines (4)
  • JPN 137: Readings in Contemporary Japanese Literature (4)
  • JPN 138: Readings in the Humanities: Japan Today (4)
  • JPN 141: Introduction to Classical Japanese (4)
  • JPN 152: Traditional Japanese Drama (4)
  • JPN 153: Love, Sexuality and the Family in Modern Japanese Literature (4)
  • JPN 154: Tourism and Heritage in Japan (4)
  • JPN 155: Introduction to Japanese Folklore (4)
  • JPN 156: Japanese Literature on Film (4)
  • JPN 157: Japanese Women Writers (4)
  • JPN 158: The Supernatural in Japan (4)
  • JPN 159: The Other in Modern Japanese Literature (4)
  • JPN 160: The Culture of Japanese Food (4)
  • JPN 162: Japan Travelogue: Ethnographic Writing on Japanese Culture and People (4)
  • JPN 164: Japanese Cinema (4)
  • AHI 164: The Arts of Japan (Art History)
  • ANT 149A: Traditional Japanese Society (Anthropology)
  • ANT 149B: Modern Japanese Society (Anthropology)
  • CHN 1__: [Any upper division Chinese course - choice 1]
  • CHN 1__: [Any upper division Chinese course - choice 2]
  • COM 153: (Communication)
  • ECN 171: Economy of East Asia (Economics)
  • HIS 194A: Aristocratic and Feudal Japan (History)
  • HIS 194B: Early Modern Japan (History)
  • HIS 194C: Modern Japan (History)
  • HIS 194D: Business and Labor in Modern Japan
  • POL 148B: Government and Politics of East Asia: Japan (Political Science)
  • RST 170: Buddhism (Religious Studies)
  • RST 172: Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism (Religious Studies)

(or other upper-division literature and culture courses with approval from Japanese faculty advisor)

  12
Total Units for the Major 40 - 70