Fall Quarter 2025

Fall Quarter 2025

• For day, time, room, and TA information, see our PDF Schedule or the Schedule Builder
• For all courses not described here, please refer to the General Catalog course descriptions: 

Lower Division

• JPN 001 Elementary Japanese, 13 Sections
• Course Description: Introduction to spoken and written Japanese in cultural contexts, with emphasis on communication.
• JPN 004 Intermediate Japanese, 4 Sections

• Course Description: Intermediate-level training in spoken and written Japanese in cultural context, based on language skills developed in JPN 003.
  Prerequisite(s): JPN 003 C- or better; or the equivalent language proficiency.

• JPN 010 Masterworks of Japanese Literature
  Joseph Sorensen
• Course Description: Introduction to Japanese literature: readings and discussion in English of important works from earliest times to the present.

Upper Division

• JPN 101 Japanese Literature in Translation: The Early Period
  David Gundry
• Course Description: Study of early Japanese literature from the Nara to the end of the Heian period through a broad survey of the major literary genres such as lyric poetry, court diaries, prose narratives, poem-tales, and classical Chinese writings.
• JPN 106 Japanese Culture Through Film
  David Gundry
• Course Description: Aspects of Japanese culture such as love, sexuality, war, the military, the family, the position of women, growing up and death as portrayed in Japanese cinema. Lectures, discussion, and readings in English. Films with English subtitles.
• JPN 111 Modern Japanese: Reading & Discussion
• Section 1: Junko Ito
  Section 2, 3: Miyo Uchida
• JPN 121 Advanced Japanese I
  Yumiko Shibata

• Course Description: First of three courses in a series of fourth-year Advanced Japanese which focuses on the levels of formality or politeness in conversation as well as socio-cultural aspects and topics in Japanese society.
  Prerequisite(s): JPN 113 C- or better; or consent of instructor.

• JPN 153 Love, Sexuality & the Family in Modern Japanese Literature 
  Michiko Suzuki
• Love and sexuality in their various forms have been a central topic for exploration by writers of modern and contemporary Japanese literature from the late 19th century to the present. While such concepts reflect universal human experiences, they are also rooted in specific historical and cultural contexts. The family as a social, cultural and legal institution profoundly informs literary examinations of love and sexuality, including issues of normativity and deviance, love within and outside of family ties, different forms of marriage/divorce, gender roles, and the struggle between the family and the individual. By examining texts written over a hundred-year period, we will gain a deeper understanding of literary narratives through their engagement with the evolving institution of family and with changing ideas of love and sexuality. We will focus mainly on novels and short stories, but also read several secondary articles on literary criticism, history, religion and sociology. GE: AH, WC, WE
• JPN 164  Japanese Cinema
  Michiko Suzuki
• This class is an introduction to Japanese film from the early silent films to contemporary cinema. While exploring the history of Japanese film and its social and cultural contexts, we examine works by important directors (such as Kurosawa and Ozu), genres (such as avant-garde film and samurai film), themes and techniques. We will also read secondary critical materials on Japanese film and history. Particular areas of focus include gender, war, memory, censorship, visuality and narrative. Lectures, readings and discussions will be in English. No previous knowledge of Japanese language or culture is required. GE: AH, WC, WE, VL