JAPN250/Language and Culture

Instructor: Christopher S. Thompson, Ph.D.
Gordy Hall 351
Phone: 593-0666 (office)
E-mail: thompsoc@ohio.edu
Web: http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/%7Ethompsoc/JAPN250.html

Office Hours: 2:00pm most days by appointment if possible.
Class Meets: 1:10 - 2:00 p.m. Mon, Tue & Thu, Fri
Classroom: RTEC 215

COURSE OBJECTIVES
* To develop a basic understanding of Japan, its language and culture through readings, video viewing, discussion, lectures and other course work.
* To become aware of and critically examine cultural, historical, and linguistic differences between Japan and the United States (and other cultures) through the topics covered in the course. Our aim is to find similarities in apparent differences and differences in apparent similarities.
* To learn several fundamental characteristics of the cross cultural experience, and to learn how to process this experience (in basic ways) using the conceptual “tools” utilized in cultural anthropology and in other social sciences.
* To learn basic facts about Japan.
* To develop further interests in aspects of Japanese life and culture beyond what the student already knows.

Required Texts & Materials
* Horvat, Andrew 2000. Japanese Beyond Words: How To Walk And Talk Like A Native Speaker. Stone Bridge Press. Berkeley, California.
* Feiler, Bruce S. 1991. Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan. New York: Ticknor & Fields.
* Kriska, Laura J. 1997. The Accidental Office Lady Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, Japan: Charles E. Tuttle.
* One notebook for keeping class notes.
* One folder or binder for keeping class handouts.

Optional
* Allison, Anne. 2000. Permitted and Prohibited Desires: Mothers, Comics, and Censorship in Japan. Berkeley: University of California Press.
* Davidson, Cathy N. 1993. 36 Views of Mount Fuji: On Finding Myself in Japan. New York: Penguin Books.
* Ogasawara, Yuko. 1998. Office Ladies and Salaried Men: Power, Gender, and Work In Japanese Companies. Berkeley: University of California Press.
* Rogers, Lawrence trans. & ed. 2002. Tokyo Stories: A Literary Stroll. Berkeley: University of California Press.
* Yamada, Haru. 1997. Different Games, Different Rules: Why Americans and Japanese Misunderstand Each Other. New York: Oxford University Press.
* White, Mary. 2002. Perfectly Japanese: Making Families In An Era of Upheaval. Berkeley: University of California Press.

+ Some class lectures will cover material contained in the “optional books listed above.

Required Supplementary Resource: Access to the Internet
Kids Web Japan Page <http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/index.html>
* The first part of all Weekly Quizzes is taken from the topic pages contained on the Launch Pad page and the Q & A sections contained within them.

Recommended Supplementary Resources
* The Chubu Collection materials housed in the southwest corner of the 1st Floor in Alden Library Center for International Collections. Although you will find many resources about Japan in Japanese here, the English language newspapers such as The Japan Times will be of immediate use. Feel free to browse and even study here.
* Other Japan related web sites. See list of Japanese Newspaper Web Sites in English on page 4 of this syllabus.
* Videos, films, cassette tapes, etc. in the Alden Library and available through Ohio Link.

COURSE FORMAT
* Lecture, Discussion, Active Video Viewing, class activities and Student Reports will make up the course. We will also be interacting with students and visitors from Japan on campus when and if possible.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS
* Students are expected to attend all classes to do all assigned course work and to participate in all small/large group activities and discussions. All work must be submitted on time.

EVALUATION
1. Attendance/Class Participation (100 points)
* Attendance (i.e., your physical presence) at each class session is worth 10 points per week. (Each absence deducts 2.5 points from this total.) Attendance and Class Participation includes the degree to which each student is willing to participate in class activities according to the following criteria: preparedness (on assigned readings), eagerness, thoughtfulness, willingness to cooperative, sensitivity to other members of the class, and level of involvement, etc. Excessive absences may jeapardize a passing grade in the class since the presence in class and class participation provide a crucial experiential component to the course. (See course policy section.)

2. Homework Assignments (40 points)
* Every now and then, you will be given homework assignments related to the topics dealt with in class. These assignments will total 40 points in value.

3. News Journals (30 points)
* On two occasions during the quarter (see course schedule) each student is required to reflect on an appropriate media report pertaining to Japan. These observations should come from an English language Japanese newspaper found either on the Internet or in the Chubu Collection located in the West corner of the 1st floor in Alden Library. Students will submit their News Journal by e-mail to Dr. Thompson on the predetermined dates. The News Journals should follow the format below.

A journal entry should be no longer than one typed page in length and contain the following: A one solid paragraph description of a news story the student found interesting or informative, a second paragraph containing a reaction to the story, and a third paragraph that makes reference to course material and indicates connections of the chosen article to readings, lectures, terminology, and other information about Japan gleaned in class. The news source should also be cited in the journal entry whether it is a WWW site or hardcopy. When possible, attaching (a copy of) the article to the submission would be appreciated by the instructor. Typed assignments are preferred.

Articles in Japanese English language newspapers can be found at: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e646.html.

4. Reading Summaries (10 points)
* Students are required to keep up with the schedule of readings being covered in class. In order to hold students responsible for reading material, and to jog their memories at the beginning of class, each student will periodically take a turn at delivering a “Reading Summary” to the class. This means that during the term, each student will be required to give several oral, in-class summaries of an assigned reading assignment. Number will be determined by class enrollment figures but students usually give four.
* Reading Summaries are intended to give students a chance to reflect upon the readings publicly, and should be directed to the class, not only the instructor. Each Reading Summary should last approximately 4-6 minutes and consist of; a) an overview of the reading assignment, b) how the content relates to previous readings, c) what new (or previously discussed) information about Japan was conveyed, and d) further questions this reading posed for you about Japanese language and/or culture. Summaries are valued at 10pts. each.

5. Reading Quizzes (As Necessary)
* Class lectures and discussions will relate directly to the readings and expand upon them. Questions from the readings will appear on the four “Reading Quizzes” that will be administered during the quarter. Reading Quizzes will be calculated independently of oral and written reading summaries and will carry a value of 5 points each.

6. Weekly Quizzes (240 points)
* Seven quizzes will be given on Tuesdays during the quarter based upon assigned readings and the content of designated WWW pages. Each quiz (worth 35pts. each) will typically include multiple choice questions, True/False questions, and/or short answer definitions of Japanese words/expressions/concepts introduced in class. Quizzes will also cover material from class lectures, class discussions and video programs viewed in class and on Alex. When reading the WWW topic in preparation for quizzes, students should be sure to read all of the question pages indicated on the Quiz Review Sheet that will be made available before each quiz.

7. Term Paper (100 points)

You choose a term paper topic and conduct independent research.
1-page proposal (10 points), which must include:
(a) a description of the topic you are interested in,
(b) why you are interested in the topic and/or why the topic is important to you,
(c) five references you will use to investigate the topic; two can be Internet sources.

* Final Draft (90pts.) [Minimum of 8 pgs., max. of 10 pages, plus a bibliography and/or appendix]
* Use APA style. The important thing is not the style per se, but to use APA as a guideline for formatting the Term Paper and for organizing the bibliography. APA Guidelines can usually be found on the Alden Library site and other places on the Internet.

* Each student's Final draft must be written about the topic approved in the Term Paper Proposal Assignment.
* The Term Paper must not only discuss the approved topic, but utilize Etic/ Emic Analysis (discuss the topic from this point of view), relevant BOPJCs, and the Conceptual Tools vocabulary introduced in class to describe, interpret, and/or analyze the topic.

EVALUATION

1. Summary of Learning Activities and Percentages:
* Percentages below are approximate.

attendance/ class participation (20%)
homework assignments as (10%)
news journals (5%)
seven weekly quizzes (45%)
term paper: (20%)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL 520 pts. (100.0%)
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2. Percentages and Letter Grades:

93% - 100% = A 73% - 77% = C
90% - 93% = A- 70% - 73% = C-
87% - 90% = B+ 67% - 70% = D+
83% - 87% = B 63% - 67% = D
80% - 83% = B- 60% - 63% = D-
77% - 80% = C+ 0% - 60% = F

COURSE POLICIES:

* If you are 10 MINUTES LATE for the class, you will lose attendance points for the day.
* If a student must miss a class session for a legitimate reason, make arrangements a day or more in advance of the class period being missed. Excused absences will be granted only with proper documentation and or if the student discusses the circumstance with the instructor BEFORE CLASS TIME. An excused absence means that a student will be allowed to make up work for that class day. It doesn’t mean the student will receive participation points for that day. In case of emergencies, leave the instructor a phone message or send an e-mail message BEFORE class time. No excuses for absences made after the missed class will be taken seriously.
* When you must miss a class session, ask your classmate to get information and materials for you. The instructor will not be responsible for this.
* Access the “Irasshai” pages for the quizzes well in advance. NO EXCUSE BASED ON THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE SITE WILL BE ACCEPTED.
* NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Work must be submitted at the beginning of the class on the day it is due or by the time indicated in the schedule.
* Except under very unusual circumstances, “INCOMPLETES” ARE NOT GRANTED. When one is given, an “INCOMPLETE” CAN BE CHANGED ONLY TO a B+ AT BEST.
* NO ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT IS TOLERATED. Any kind of academic dishonesty will result in an F for the course and the student(s) will be referred to University Judiciaries. (Read the section on academic misconduct in the undergraduate and graduate course catalogs.)
* Excessive absences (more than 10 class periods) may result in an automatic failure of the course unless special circumstances warrant or prearrangements are made.

For Weekly Quizzes, go to the Web sites and addresses provided in the Quiz Review.

The Web addresses of several Japanese newspapers in English

Asahi Newspaper Index: English: <http://www.asahi.com/english/english.html>
The Japan Times: English: <http://www.japantimes.co.jp/>
The Daily Yomiuri On Line: English: <http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm>

A few more of the hundreds of other useful Japan related sites

Asian Net: Information about Japanese business, government and education.
< http://www.asahi.com/english/english.html>
J-Guide at Stanford: Stanford University's links menu to Japanese information. Includes lists of search engines and other indices.
< http://jguide.stanford.edu/>
Japan Studies Network Forum: This new site for Japanologists, set up by the Japan Foundation, has useful links to organizations, libraries, mailing lists, and other resources for people in Japan studies. Emphasis on government and social science information, but many links to language-related organizations and people as well.
< http://www.jsnet.org/>
Teach Yourself Japanese:
<http://www.geocities.com/takasugishinji/japanese/index.html>

Japanese National Flag and National Anthem: <http://www.timwerx.net/culture/japan/hinomaru.htm>

Ikebana: <http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/virtual/ikebana/ikebana.html>

Japanese Embassy Newsletter <http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/JNindex.htm>

Many other sites are out there! Let Dr. Thompson know if you find an especially good one!