JPST-210 Japanese Folktales (4 Credits)
(PP, G) Gods, demons, shape-shifting animals, wizards,monsters, ghosts, and unworldly beauties. The images and stories of these supernatural beings transmitted from olden times are still alive in the contemporary Japanese imagination. Examining the representative Japanese myths, legends, folktales, and pictures recorded and produced at different historical points, this course examines the shifting cultural meanings and purposes of those folk stories and icons. It also explores the contemporary popular culture industry that draws inspiration from folklore traditions, considering how new retellings reinvent and re-inform folkloric worlds.
JPST-220 Japanese Masterpieces in Translation (4 Credits)
(PL,G) This course provides a broad overview of the representative literary works produced in Japan during the classical, medieval, early modern, and modern periods. While reading selected literature, we will discuss the historical and socio-cultural backgrounds in which the works were created. Our readings will cover various genres such as tales, diaries, poetry, drama, autobiographical writing, and fiction. The goal of this class is to cultivate familiarity and appreciation of the cultures, aesthetics, and social values of Japan that spawned the variety of literary works we will read in class. No prerequisite.
JPST-230 Japanese Theatre (4 Credits)
(PA, G) The primary goal of this course is to invite students into an intellectual and physical investigation of Japanese performing arts. It introduces the classical performance genres of No, Kyogen, Kabuki, and Bunraku (puppet theatre) in their historical, cultural and performative context, and considers their aesthetic formation. Students shall be able to analyze and appreciate different kinds of performance through lectures, readings, videos, and possibly some hands-on workshops. As such, a selection of plays will be examined in English alongside the work of theatre directors and performance makers including artists working to develop interdisciplinary and intercultural forms of expression.
JPST-250 Japanese Culture & Society (4 Credits)
(PH,G) This course will introduce students to Japanese culture and society while traveling in Japan on J-term. The topics and reading materials closely relate to each destination and include literature, history, religion, social systems, and current issues. Students will deepen their understanding of Japanese culture and society by having classroom study combined with firsthand experience, observation, and interaction with people living in Japan. Taught in English. No prerequisite.
JPST-350 Japanese Masterpieces in Translation (4 Credits)
(PL,G) This course provides a broad overview of Japanese literary history. The readings include masterpieces from different time periods and genres. While reading the selected works, the class discusses the historical and socio-cultural backgrounds in which the works were created as well as the cultural and social values reflected in the works. Students will cultivate a familiarity and appreciation of literature that has developed outside the Western tradition, and be encouraged to think critically about the locality and universality of literary expression. Taught in English. No prerequisite.
JPST-370 Women\'s Literature From Japan (4 Credits)
(PL,G) This course explores representative works of Japanese literature authored by women and/or written for female readership. We will first examine major works of fictional narratives and autobiographical accounts from premodern Japan. The class then transits to analyze works from modern and contemporary times, focusing on short stories, novellas, and graphic novels. Through the course, students are encouraged to cultivate a comparative perspective. We will discuss shared themes that characterize women\'s experiences across cultures and times, as well as specific and particular concerns expressed in a certain work, considering its historical, social, personal, and literary context that shaped the work.
JPST-393 International Study Colloquium (3-4 Credits)