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East Asian Studies Courses

EAST 490 East Asia In and Beyond the Media
Intended as a capstone to the East Asian Studies major, the senior seminar will offer focused interdisciplinary discussions on a variety of issues in contemporary East Asia, with particular attention to media representations of these issues and the region more generally. Specific topics will change from year to year and will be selected in consultations between the instructor and enrolled students. It is also designed to support seniors during the SIP process. Required of East Asian Studies majors; open to non-majors with instructor permission.

Chinese Language and Culture

CHIN 222 20th-Century Urban China This course interrogates literary and cinematic representations of Chinese cities in the twentieth century. By examining urban narrative in Chinese fiction, drama, poetry and film from the Republican and People's Republic periods, this class offers a new understanding of Chinese modernity as marked by its unique urban sensibilities as well as its historical and cultural configurations.
CHIN 224 Chinese Sci-Fi This course uses Chinese Sci-fi fictions and films to explore how an understanding of the tumultuous past and a perception of the rapidly shifting present in the Chinese cultural context are rendered in an imagination of alternative contemporary realities and of the future of China and of this interconnected planet. All the course materials are in English translation.
CHIN 240 Chinese Text and Moving Image This course examines how Chinese literary texts from classical tales to modern novels are reimagined through cinema in Greater China. It investigates how filmmakers transform written narratives while negotiating cultural memory, national identity, and gender. Students will also explore related topics such as tensions between local storytelling and global audiences, classical aesthetics and pop culture, and individual authorship and collective production. It is taught in English. No prior knowledge of Chinese is required.
CHIN 260 Women in China As in many countries subject to imperialism, women's movements in China were an important part of China's modernization project. How, then, have Chinese feminist theories and women's movements been different from those in the West? What is it like to live as a woman in a rapidly changing China through the 20th and 21st centuries? This course takes three approaches to explore these questions. To examine the characteristics and changes of gender roles we look at the representations of women in literature and film. To understand women's experiences we read women writers' essays, memoirs and fictions. To think about how women work as historical agents who make historical changes, we look at women activists, feminist thinkers and women's movements.
CHIN 270 In Search of the Supernatural This course explores the supernatural in Chinese mythology, folklore, and literature, examining myths of gods, spirits, and strange beings that blur the line between human and supernatural realms. Students will study cosmogonic myths, supernatural creatures, and ghost stories to understand how these narratives reflect cultural, social, and ethical themes in Chinese history. The course also addresses issues like transformation, justice, and gender dynamics. Modern media adaptations of these myths will be analyzed to explore their continued impact on contemporary identity and morality. Students will engage through readings, discussions, creative projects, and analytical writing to develop skills of literary analysis, critical thinking, and intercultural proficiency. Open to Sophomores only.
CHIN 280 Love and Sexuality in China This course examines the evolution of love, romance, and sexuality in Chinese culture, from ancient Confucian ideals to modern media. Through theoretical frameworks and case studies, students analyze how these themes reflect cultural, social, and political shifts.
CHIN 300 Advanced Chinese This course is a continuation of the Intermediate Chinese language sequence. The objective is to make a transition from textbook Chinese to real-life communication situations. The course uses a range of cultural materials and texts to facilitate a language exposure to a wide variety of written and spoken styles of Chinese. Some of the materials selected are original publications drawn from books, magazines and newspapers. This course focuses on content and style with extensive discussion and frequent written assignments in Chinese. It aims to consolidate what the students have learned in the past and help them develop better reading and writing skills. In addition, the improvement of speaking and listening abilities stays in focus throughout this course. This course may be tailored to the needs of the participants and may be taken for credit up to three times. Must have completed CHIN-203 or equivalent.
CHIN 600 Teaching Assistantship

Japanese Language and Culture

JAPN 101 Beginning Japanese I Introductory course; basic grammar and vocabulary; emphasis on listening and oral foundations; hiragana and katakana and an introduction to kanji. Students are encouraged to begin this course sequence in their first year in order to complete the three-quarter sequence (JAPN 101, 102, 103) required for study abroad, as well as the second year sequence (JAPN 201, 202, 203) before study abroad except the Nagasaki program. Must be taken concurrently with JAPN-101L. Failure to register in the lab may result in removal from the course.
JAPN 102 Beginning Japanese II Further introduction to basic grammar and vocabulary; development of fundamental reading and writing skills using hiragana, katakana, and approximately 50 kanji. Must have completed JAPN-101 or placed into JAPN-102. Must be taken concurrently with JAPN-102L. Failure to register in the lab may result in removal from the course.
JAPN 103 Beginning Japanese III Reinforcement of basic listening and development of oral and aural competency; further achievement of reading and writing skills using the kana and approximately 100 kanji. Must have completed JAPN-102 or placed into JAPN-103. Must be taken concurrently with JAPN-103L. Failure to register in the lab may result in removal from the course.
JAPN 201 Intermediate Japanese I Further work in conversation, oral interpretation, and elementary composition using approximately 200 kanji; study of idioms fundamental to an active use of spoken and written Japanese. Must have completed JAPN-103 or placed into JAPN-201. Must be taken concurrently with JAPN-201L. Failure to register in the lab may result in removal from the course.
JAPN 202 Intermediate Japanese II Further refinement in areas studied in JAPN 201. Must have completed JAPN-201 or placed into JAPN-202. Must be taken concurrently with JAPN-202L.Failure to register in the lab may result in removal from the course.
JAPN 203 Intermediate Japanese III Further refinement in areas studied in JAPN 202. Must have completed JAPN-202 or placed into JAPN-203. Must be taken concurrently with JAPN-203L. Failure to register in the lab may result in removal from the course.
JAPN 236 Pre-Modern Japanese Lit In this course, we will read Japanese literary works from the 8th through the 19th century. The ancient period will mesmerize us with majestic and bewildering myths; in the early medieval period we will be met by witty court ladies and swept up in swoonworthy romance; the late medieval period will take us into heroic battles; and the early modern period will delight and captivate us with a variety of tales, from the spooky to the hilarious. Along with prose works, we will be guided through these four periods by poetry: sad, beautiful, humorous-and always short and readable. We will also gain familiarity with other arts, such as theatre, painting, and calligraphy. No prior knowledge of Japanese language and/or culture required.
JAPN 238 Post-War Japn Lit in Transl This course surveys important Japanese writers of the post-World War II era, with special attention to the profound transformations that followed the dissolution of the Japanese Empire in 1945. In the immediate postwar period the physical map of "Japan" shrank dramatically, and a national imagination that had for decades ranged across the plains of Manchuria and far into South Asia collapsed in on itself. This course investigates the ways in which prominent writers confronted this collapse and everything it implied, from a tentative renegotiation of Japan's place in the world (largely via its relationship with the United States), to a rapidly urbanizing society's relationship to its own hinterlands. Authors covered include Abe Kobo, Murakami Haruki, and Yu Miri. All readings, lectures, and discussions in English.
JAPN 239 Modern Japanese Lit in Transl What does it mean to be a modern nation? A modern person? This course will examine a number of Japanese authors, from the late 19th century through the early 20th century, who have addressed the cultural and psychic dislocations that resulted from Japan's encounter with the West and transformation of Japan into a modern, nationalistic state. Authors read will include: Natsume Soseki, Higuchi Ichiyo, and Tanzaki Jun'ichiro. All readings, lectures, and discussions in English.
JAPN 240 Japanese Culture through Film In this course we will watch ten live-action features made in Japan between the 1930s and the 2020s. Ranging from world-famous, award-winning classics (directed by Mizoguchi Kenji and Kurosawa Akira) to the rebellious flicks of the Japanese New Wave (Oshima Nagisa; Suzuki Seijun) to recent arthouse cinema (Tanada Yuki), they represent a variety of genres and engage, in their form and content, with multiple aspects of Japanese history and culture. We will work on our basic film literacy, learning how to describe what we see on the screen and how to translate our emotional responses into nuanced critical statements. We will also gain a deeper understanding of Japanese culture beyond cinema. No previous familiarity with Japanese language and culture, and/or film studies, required.
JAPN 245 Japanese Language in Society This course explores several major aspects of language use associated with Japanese culture and society. The course aims not only at familiarizing students with various aspects of Japanese language with reference to culture and society, but also their developing an appreciation for a different culture. When discussing the inherent inter-relationship between language and culture, including the beliefs, values, and social organization, we will focus on the ideas of power, hierarchy, gender, and history. No previous knowledge of Japanese or linguistics is assumed or required. Readings, lectures, and discussion are all in English.
JAPN 250 Manga/Anime & Gender Mod. Jse From the "Warrior of Love" Sailor Moon to the "tomboyish" Nausicaa, Earth's champion fighter Son Goku to beautiful skating wunderkind Katsuki Yuri, "herbivorous men to "carnivorous women," Japanese manga and anime contain an incredible diversity of representations of gender identities and sexual orientations. While often derided for their overtly sexual themes or sexually explicit character designs, anime and manga have just as often been praised as liberatory spaces that challenge gender stereotypes. This class will examine anime and manga through the lens of gender, asking how popular media can both reinforce harmful structures of oppression and also offer new possibilities for identification. Furthermore, we will consider the ways that manga and anime function as cultural industries whose commercial logics work in and through social constructions of gender and sexuality.
JAPN 255 Japanese Science Fiction This course will look at the relationship between popular culture, media, and Japanese society through the lens of science fiction literature and film. Looking across the 20th century and into the 21st, we will use sci-fi to ask: how does popular culture reflect its moment, and how does it critique it? What role does genre play in our understanding of a text? How do genres travel internationally? In doing so, we'll develop skills for analyzing pop culture, as well as communicating that understanding in a variety of registers. No Japanese language ability is required.
JAPN 260 Labor in Japanese Pop Culture How do we imagine work? How has work and labor been invested with meaning in society? What fantasies do we hold about our jobs, and what fears? Does work mean something different now than it did in the past, and if so, how has that shift been reflected in or influenced by popular culture? This course proposes to think carefully and critically about these questions by drawing on popular cultural production in Japan, a country long imagined as having a particularly strong emphasis on work culture and labor.
JAPN 301 Adv Inter. Japanese Language This third-year Japanese language course is designed to enhance students' proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing through engaging, annually changing topics. A unique feature of the course is its emphasis on individualized learning-approximately one-third of the term is dedicated to a personal project tailored to each student's interests. Past projects have included preparation for the JLPT, manga analysis, and translation work for senior projects (SIPs). Students may enroll in this course up to three times, with new content and goals each term. Must have completed or placed higher than JAPN-203.
JAPN 302 Adv. Int. Japanese II This course is the second of the third-year Japanese language sequence, offering more advanced training in the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This third-year Japanese language course is designed to enhance students' proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing through engaging, annually changing topics. A unique feature of the course is its emphasis on individualized learning-approximately one-third of the term is dedicated to a personal project tailored to each student's interests. Past projects have included preparation for the JLPT, manga analysis, and translation work for senior projects (SIPs). Students may enroll in this course up to three times. Must have completed or placed higher than JAPN-203.
JAPN 395 ST: Adv Int Japanese Conv This course is designed for students who have successfully completed Japanese 203 or have an equivalent or higher proficiency level in Japanese. The primary goal is to assist students to further develop oral and aural Japanese communication skills, by practicing the types of conversation that occur in daily situations, as well as being aware of pragmatics and cultural aspect accompanying those situations. Students will also increase their knowledge of Japan and its society, its customs, the ways of thinking of Japanese, taking into consideration individual speaker's various backgrounds while practicing the conversations. Must have completed or placed higher than JAPN-203.
JAPN 395 ST:Tadoku:ext Reading in Japn This course focuses on developing Japanese language skills through reading Japanese-language books. Readings are individualized for students based on their level of language proficiency. Students read books or stories at their own pace without using dictionaries. Must have completed JAPN-102.
JAPN 593 Senior Integrated Project Each program or department sets its own requirements for Senior Integrated Projects done in that department, including the range of acceptable projects, the required background of students doing projects, the format of the SIP, and the expected scope and depth of projects. See the Kalamazoo Curriculum -> Senior Integrated Project section of the Academic Catalog for more details. Permission of department and SIP supervisor required.
JAPN 600 Teaching Assistantship