Japanese in Translation

The class will read a diverse selection of Japanese texts in English translation, alongside English-language texts about Japan, to explore key themes in Japanese culture. More broadly, we will examine how effective writing conveys complex ideas with clarity, and brings new perspectives to life for readers. Students will also practice writing in multiple modes, with emphasis on developing an authentic voice.

This seminar examines how films from Japan visually raise different cultural and social issues, and how they relate to the universal human condition. With an understanding that films involve so many different disciplines, this seminar examines contemporary Japan via comparativist and cross-cultural perspectives by paying careful attention to the effects of the imagistic and visual power that only films can offer.

Restricted to Japanese majors, this course is designed as a capstone seminar that will require a class presentation and an extended final paper that demonstrate the significant knowledge of Japanese language.