[The PRINT OUT VERSION runs eleven pages and includes the SYLLABUS, information about ASSUMPTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS, a list of COURSE OBJECTIVES, REQUIREMENTS and EVALUATION CRITERIA in addition to a full COURSE SCHEDULE (including ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES and REQUIRED READINGS).  PLEASE NOTE: This version of the course syllabus and class schedule has not been updated since being uploaded to the course web site on January 14, 2002.  Please check the web site version for more up-to-date information.]

 

HIS 373 / 573, CONTEMPORARY JAPAN IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

SPRING SEMESTER 2002

DR. LEE A. MAKELA

OFFICE: RT 1908 (216.687.3927)
OFFICE HOURS: MWF 1:30 - 2:30 PM
AND BY APPOINTMENT
HOME PHONE: 216.561.2940
email: l.makela@csuohio.edu
http://www.csuohio.edu/history/lam.html

SYLLABUS

INTRODUCTION: HIS 373 / 573, CONTEMPORARY JAPAN IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE represents a course of study designed to introduce contemporary Japanese culture and civilization to an audience encountering the formal study of Japan for the first time. An analytical examination of the various component parts comprising life in Japan today will be conducted against an historical backdrop and (implicitly) in comparison with contemporary American culture and society; both visual and written resources will be used as source material for our exploration. Students should expect to emerge from the course with an historical understanding of the roots of contemporary Japan, an appreciation of the complexity of modem Japanese life and culture and the tools of inquiry useful in the historical exploration of an unfamiliar cultural tradition.

The course web site is located at the following URL [note the second "a" in "makelaa"]:

http://academic.csuohio.edu/makelaa/history/courses/his373/index.html

ASSUMPTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS: The following paragraphs are intended to clarify what is assumed and expected of students enrolled in this course. Often individual student expectations vary substantially from those of fellow students and from those of the course instructor. These guidelines are meant to provide a common ground upon which to build and to avoid misunderstandings that might otherwise arise. Please read through the guidelines carefully and then indicate at your earliest convenience (via an email to the instructor) your understanding and acceptance of these standards.

This course has been designed with the following set of assumptions and expectations in mind:

·          This is not the only course in which you are enrolled. In fact it is assumed each student is typically taking a twelve semester hour course load, is employed twenty hours per week, and has significant social and family obligations beyond the university and academic community.

·          Regular and consistent course attendance and participation is a basic core requirement. Students whose usual personal schedules preclude on-time arrivals and for whom regular departures must occur prior to the scheduled conclusion of class time are encouraged to find a more appropriately scheduled course.

·          As a four credit course, each classroom hour is expected to be combined with three hours of preparatory reading, writing and reflection, requiring a commitment of twelve hours weekly (as part of an assumed total of thirty-six hours of weekly academic involvement for a fulltime student taking twelve credits per semester).

If you fit the above profile and are willing to make the commitment, you should find the course challenging but manageable. If not (you may be working more hours per week, have a set of demanding family obligations beyond the ordinary, be enrolled for more than twelve hours this semester or regularly arrive in class after the start of lecture), you should carefully calculate the cost of trying to work this course into your existing schedule -- ask yourself, for example, if you are willing to accept a lower (or failing) grade for not having the time available to be in class or to devote to course expectations and requirements.

·          Unlike other courses you might have taken in the past, this course of study is not oriented towards the more-or-less passive acquisition and mastery of a set body of information as outlined by a specific text or in instructor-defined lecture materials. Instead the course of study opens a subject matter area -- the history, civilization and culture of Japan -- within the context of a "learning community". In this setting students are expected to work actively to define personally-defined interests and to explore them adequately using the ways and means established by the course structure -- assigned reading, independent research, written quizzes and essays, written and oral discussion, formal lectures, video and film presentations, role-playing exercises. Students will not be expected nor required to march as part of a single group in lock step towards a predefined set of instructor-defined goals. Instead each will be asked to define personal learning objectives, to chart an independent course towards their achievement and to demonstrate mastery of the general subject matter of the course in a variety of ways to the satisfaction of the instructor. If you are unwilling -- or unable -- to undertake this self-motivated, independently-directed, individually-monitored, active approach to learning, you might be better off in an alternative course offering utilizing a more compatible and comfortable educational setting.

·          As an upper division History Department offering, this course assumes students have taken advantage of their earlier fourteen years of schooling to acquire the essential academic skills needed to assure success. Specifically these skills include an ability to read a variety of materials with comprehension and understanding, to write clear and accurate prose, to structure written and oral communication in an appropriately organized and documented fashion and to participate willingly and profitably in oral and written discussion. The course provides an opportunity to hone these skills but not to acquire them.

·          Access to email and the world wide web -- as well as a basic level of computer literacy -- also is assumed. Most students already possess word processing skills (or know someone who does). Furthermore every enrolled student at CSU has an assigned email address (usually [given name initial].[family name]@popmail.csuohio.edu); the course web site also features an internal email system making possible direct contact with the instructor and fellow students enrolled in this course. On-campus labs, the university library and many other Cleveland area libraries have public access computers available with Internet connections. If you own (or have access to) a personal computer with a modem, you can gain free access to CSU computers by contacting the Office for Computer Facilities on the eleventh floor of Rhodes Tower. If, however, these facilities are inconvenient or inadequate to meet your own personal needs and/or schedule, please consider the impact these circumstances might have on your ability to meet course expectations and requirements and take steps accordingly. If any of these essential skills are particularly weak, you must be prepared to devote extra time and effort to their remediation in order to accomplish fully what the course requires of you.

·          All upper division courses in the Department of History are mandated to assign a minimum of 1200 pages of reading material and to require significant work in the form of research essays, journals, examination responses and/or other forms of written communication.

·          This specific course furthermore assumes an ability to undertake independent research on a subject of personal interest related to the specific content of the course. As a result you should be prepared (with the support and aid of the instructor as needed and required) to identify an appropriate subject matter, demonstrate the existence of sufficient specifically-applicable materials (books, articles, internet web sites) to justify your investigation, assemble a significantly varied supporting bibliography of consulted sources, and prepare an appropriately annotated analytical essay discussing the application of the descriptive results of your research effort to themes developed in the course itself.

As this set of assumptions and standards indicates, while this course of study does not demand or expect any prior knowledge of Japanese history, civilization or culture, it has been built on the premise that the student undertaking it is equipped adequately with the skills necessary both to acquire this knowledge base and to put it to the test of analysis and evaluation. If you meet this profile and are willing to commit yourself actively to the achievement of the stated course objectives, welcome aboard! If not, you might more profitably look elsewhere for the educational challenge you seek.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: At the end of fifteen weeks of instruction, students enrolled in HIS 373 / 573, CONTEMPORARY JAPAN IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE should be able to --

·          identify and explain the significance of basic terms, personalities and concepts associated with the study of contemporary Japanese civilization and culture.

·          discuss with insight the major characteristics of modern Japanese social, political, economic and religious systems, institutions and beliefs.

·          discuss with insight aspects of contemporary Japanese popular culture, the traditional Japanese fine arts and literature as maintained in Japan today and the impact of the postmodern on both popular and traditional cultural constructs.

·          characterize the impact of both past traditions and the modern West on contemporary Japanese life and culture

·          discuss with insight contemporary affairs, issues and problems (both internal and external) involving Japan.

·          demonstrate control of the tools of inquiry useful in undertaking the study of any unfamiliar cultural tradition in historical perspective.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: REGULAR CLASS ATTENDANCE, PARTICIPATION IN DISCUSSION AND ON-TIME SUBMISSION OF ASSIGNMENTS ARE BASIC COURSE REQUIREMENTS as is the completion of the reading assigned in the accompanying class schedule. Assigned reading for the course includes Karl Taro Greenfeld's Speed Tribes: Days and Nights with Japan's Next Generation; Stephen Addiss' How to Look at Japanese Art; Nelly Delay's The Art and Culture of Japan; and the collection of articles and excerpts on file in the Cleveland State University library accessible through Electronic Reserve. Recommendations for Internet web materials are also listed in the course schedule for your consideration.

In addition the class will be asked to complete a writing skills assessment survey and two research assignments: the first, an interpretive essay discussing - in two parts (descriptive and analytical) -- an aspect of contemporary Japanese life in historical perspective; the second (including a written personality profile and a series of public opinion survey questions) requiring each student to assume a contemporary Japanese personality appropriate to a pair of role-playing exercises concluding the course of study. An on-going series of journal assignments must also be completed and shared with the instructor at intervals prescribed in the syllabus. Students will also be given the opportunity to participate in a series of Internet Discussions on various topics covered in the syllabus. There will be periodic quizzes on the assigned reading but no other examinations required in the course.

SYNOPSIS OF COURSE REQUIREMENTS (AND EVALUATION CRITERIA):

·          completion of the assigned portions of the required texts (as demonstrated in the periodic quizzes). [30% of the final grade for the course.]

·          completion of an essay discussing an aspect of contemporary Japanese civilization in historical perspective. [40% of final course grade]

·          completion of a research assignment exploring a representative social role in contemporary Japanese life and participation in accompanying role-playing exercises. [30% of final course grade]

In addition points will be awarded for completion of the following ungraded course requirements. [A total of 150 points is currently available; this total may change as the course proceeds.]

·          regular class attendance and in-class participation. [20 points with 5 points subtracted for each absence, excused or unexcused.]

·          on-time submission of quizzes [2 points for each submission handed to the instructor during -- or prior to -- the class session in which the assignment is due or prior to that course session in conjunction with an excused absence for a possible total of 12 points.]

·          completion of a series of journal assignments designed to access personal interests and individual insights into course materials and class sessions. [48 points total with a maximum of 10 for each submitted assignment and an added 2 points per assignment for on-time submission.]

·          submission of an acceptable Writing Skills Assessment survey no later than the due date assigned in the COURSE SCHEDULE. [10 points.]

·          submission of a properly completed annotated bibliography of resources to be consulted as part of the assigned research essay in conjunction with a description of the project underway (10 points) and a preliminary draft of the research essay (20 points), both provided to the instructor on or prior to the due date listed in the CLASS SCHEDULE.

·          participation in online Internet Discussions. [1 point for each significant contribution -- as determined by the instructor - to a maximum of 20 points.]

·          submission of an analytical review of a representative contemporary Japanese feature film. [10 points.]

The average of completed graded assignments will be multiplied by the points earned over the course of the semester to obtain the final course grade.

CLASS SCHEDULE

The course meets on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons between 12:15 p.m. and 1:20 p.m. in Main Classroom (MC) 103 from Monday, January 14, 2002 through Friday, May 3, 2002 following the schedule listed below. All assignments are noted under the dates on which they are due; assigned readings noted in the schedule under a particular date should be completed BEFORE coming to class.
 

WAYS OF THINKING ABOUT JAPAN
(SEVEN CLASS SESSIONS)

MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2002: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

Distribution of Course Materials
An Introduction to the Course and the Course Web Site

Attitude Survey and Journal Assignments

INTERNET DISCUSSION ONE (IMAGES AND IMPRESSIONS) OPEN

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2002: IMAGES, ATTITUDES AND PORTRAITS OF JAPAN

VIDEO: Portraits of Japan (excerpts)

ATTITUDE SURVEY DUE

READING (all reading assignments to be completed BEFORE class meets):

"Snix: the Otaku", Chapter XII in Karl Taro Greenfeld's Speed Tribes: Days and Nights with Japan's Next Generation (New York: Harper Collins, 1994) [henceforth SPEED], pages 269 - 283.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 2002: COMING TO TERMS WITH JAPAN I

DISCUSSION: Making Common Sense of Japan -- Questions of Interpretation and Categories of Meaning

READING: Articles from Contemporary Japan in Historical Perspective materials on reserve in the CSU Main Library (To access these articles, go to the following Internet web address: < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebj.pdf >. All articles listed as assigned for a single date are located in the same electronic reserve file.):

·          "Rewriting the Book on How to Deal with Japan" (Business Week, August 7, 1989: 1 page)

·          "Book Excerpt: The Enigma of Japanese Power" (Fortune, May 8, 1989: 4 pages)

·          "Tokyo: The Hard Life" (7he Atlantic, March 1989: 5 pages)

·          "Life in a Box: Japanese Question Fruits of Success" (The New York Times, January 2, 1994: 3 pages)

·          "Guns: One Nation Bars, The Other Requires" " (The New York Times, March 10, 1997: 2 pages)

·          "Japan Bashing: More Than Racism" (Christian Social Action, May 1992: 4 pages)

INTERNET DISCUSSIONS TWO (TERMINOLOGY / CHRONOLOGY / GEOGRAPHY) AND THREE (NEWS AND RESOURCES) OPEN

MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2002: HOLIDAY (MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY)

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2002: OSAKA 2001 - JAPAN ON THE EVE OF A NEW MILLENIUM

OSAKA 2001 WEB ASSIGNMENT AND SURVEY DUE
(located at <http://academic.csuohio.edu/makelaa/lectures/osaka/index.html>)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2002: COMING TO TERMS WITH JAPAN II

DISCUSSION: Making Common Sense of Japan -- A Continuation

JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT ONE DUE

INTERNET DISCUSSION ONE CLOSED

MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 2002: JAPAN'S PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

DISCUSSION: The Cultural Influences of Geography
 

VISUAL LITERACY WEB EXERCISE DUE

(located at <http://www.csuohio.edu/history/exercise/vleintro.html>)

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2002: OUTLINING JAPANESE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

LECTURE: The Historical Periodization of Japan's Past

DISCUSSION: The Uses of the Past in the Present
 

READING:

ARTICLES at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebk.pdf >: "In Search of the Premodern" and "Discovering Japan's Premodern Heritage" (Japan Echo, Volume XV, Number 4, 1988: 10 pages)

CODES OF CONDUCT
(SEVEN SESSIONS)

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2002 :CODES OF CONDUCT: LANGUAGE

LECTURE AND DISCUSSION: Characteristics and Structure of Japanese as a Language (and the Cultural Consequences Thereof)
 

QUIZ ONE DUE

READING:

ARTICLES at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebl.pdf >:

·          "Japanese Importing English Words with Surprising Results" (Knight-Ridder Newspapers, undated: 1 page)

·           "Japanspeak: Moon Grow Over Tokyo" (Wall Street Journal, December 11, 1984: 1 page)

·           "English in Japan Not Just Language" (Associated Press, February 1, 1986: 1 page)

·          "Copywrite Japan" (letter from Charlotte Briggs, April 1987: 4 pages)

·          "Japan's Linguistic Revenge" (Nisho Iwai Journal, Winter 1995: 5 pages)

INTERNET DISCUSSION FOUR (LANGUAGE) OPEN

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2002 :CODES OF CONDUCT: SHINTO I

VIDEO AND DISCUSSION: Shinto: Man, Gods and Nature in Japan

READING:

ARTICLES at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebm.pdf >:

·           "In a Computer Age, Shinto Devils Still Prowl" (" (The New York Times, October 15, 1995: 2 pages)

·          "What Is Shinto?" (lecture by Haken Eilert, January 7, 1986: 7 pages)

INTERNET DISCUSSION FIVE (RELIGION / PHILOSOPHY) OPEN

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2002: CODES OF CONDUCT: SHINTO II

DISCUSSION: The Place of Shinto in Japanese Religion and Culture

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2002: CODES OF CONDUCT: BUDDHISM I

VIDEO AND DISCUSSION: Land of the Disappearing Buddha

JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT TWO DUE

READING:

ARTICLES at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebn.pdf >:

·           Michael Shapiro, "Japan: The Spiritual Side" (The New York Time Magazine, November 23, 1986: 4 pages)

·          "Barren Ground: Christian Missionaries Sow the Seed in Japan but Find Little Grows" (Wall Street Journal, July 9, 1986: 1 page)

·           excerpt from "Matters of Faith" (CWRU: The Magazine of Case Westem Reserve University, May 1991: 2 pages)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2002: CODES OF CONDUCT: BUDDHISM II

DISCUSSION: Buddhism in Japanese Life

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2002: CODES OF CONDUCT: NEO-CONFUCIANISM

LECTURE: Neo-Confucian Philosophy and Ethics -- Japanese Style

READING:

ARTICLE: "Strict Etiquette Lives On In Japan: Pick A Seat Wisely" (The Christian Science Monitor, March 6, 1997: 1 page)

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2002: ASPECTS OF CULTURE: CALLIGRAPHY

DISCUSSION: The Art of Calligraphy

READING: Chapter 4, "Calligraphy" in Stephen Addiss' How to Look at Japanese Art (hereafter ART), pages 76 - 93.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2002: HOLIDAY (PRESIDENTS' DAY)

EXPLORATIONS OF JAPANESE SOCIETY
(EIGHT SESSIONS)

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2002: SOCIOLOGY OF THE FAMILY

LECTURE AND DISCUSSION: Family Life

RESEARCH ESSAY TOPIC AND ROLE PLAY CHOICES DUE

READING:

"Tats: The Speed Tribes", Chapter II in SPEED, pages 17 - 46.

ARTICLES at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebo.pdf >:

·           "New Words Capture Image Of Japanese Farnily" (The Japan Times Weekly, January 21 - 27, 1991: 2 pages)

·           "Who Needs Love? In Japan, Many Couples Don't" (The New York Times, 1997: 4 pages)

INTERNET DISCUSSIONS TWO, FOUR AND FIVE CLOSED

INTERNET DISCUSSION SIX (SOCIETY) OPEN

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2002: RURAL LIFE

VIDEO: Farm Song

READING:

ARTICLES at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebp.pdf >:

·           three selections from Junichi Saga, Memories of Straw and Silk (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1987): 7 pages

·          "Expert Hagiwara Vitalizes Rural Villages" (The Japan Times Weekly, April 25 - 31, 1994: 1 page)

·           "Tokyo Lights Lure the Young to Forsake Rural Way of Life" " (The New York Times, January 2, 1997: 2 pages)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2002: RURAL LIFE II

LECTURE AND DISCUSSION: Life in Countryside -- Changing Realities

WRITING ASSESSMENT SURVEY PROJECT ESSAY DUE

READING: Nelly Delay, THE ART AND CULTURE OF JAPAN, entire

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2002: URBAN LIFE STYLES I

VIDEO: Neighborhood Tokyo

READING:

ARTICLES at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebq.pdf >:

·          "Tokyo Neighborhood Offers The Good Life" (The Japan Times Weekly, August 6 - 12, 1990: 1 page)

·          "Japanese Say No to Crime: Tough Measures at a Price" " (The New York Times, May 14, 1995: 6 pages)

FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2002: URBAN LIFE STYLES II

DISCUSSION: : Urban Expectations and Realities

READING: "Izumi: The Money-Drinkers" and "Dai: The Motorcycle Thief", Chapters I and III in SPEED, pages 1 - 16 and 47 - 84.

MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2002: THE JAPANESE WOMAN: DEFINITIONS AND PRACTICES

DISCUSSION of Assigned Readings

QUIZ TWO (SOCIETY) DUE

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2002: "DREAM GIRLS" - A VIDEO EXPLORATION

FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 2002: ISSUES OF GENDER AND SEXUALITY

QUIZ THREE (WOMEN) DUE

READING: "Choco Bon-Bon and Emi: The Perfect Tuna", "Keiko: The Early Breakfast Club" and "Jackie: The Hostess", Chapters IV, V and X in SPEED, pages 85 - 114, 115 - 146 and 227 - 244.

MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2002: NO SCHEDULED CLASS (SPRING RECESS)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2002: NO SCHEDULED CLASS (SPRING RECESS)

FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2002: NO SCHEDULED CLASS (SPRING RECESS)

ASPECTS OF JAPANESE POPULAR CULTURE
(FOUR SESSIONS)

MONDAY, MARCH 18, 2002: ARTIFACTS OF POPULAR CULTURE

DISCUSSION / DEMONSTRATION: Food, Festivals, Popular Music, Fashion, Television Shows and Fads in Contemporary Japan

RESEARCH ESSAY CONTENT DESCRIPTION AND WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE

READING:

ARTICLES at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebr.pdf >:

·          Sex vs. Hamburgers" (The Japan Times Weekly, January 7, 1989: 1 page)

·          "Pay Now, Buy Later" (Journal of Japanese Trade and Industry, No. 1, 1989: 3 pages)

·          "Grown Men in Japan Still Read Comics and Have Fantasies" (Wall Street Journal, July 21, 1987: 2 pages)

·           "In Japan, Brutal Comics for Women" (The New York Times, November 5, 1995:2 pages)

·          "How to Tell Your Vacuum Cleaner Sayonara" (Voices of Japan, November 1982: 1 page)

·          "After a Hard Day at the Office or the Factory, How Do the Japanese Relax?" (Asia Record, November 1982: 1 page)

·          "In Japan These Days, Even Processed Cheese Is Cute" (The Japan Times Weekly, January 28 - February 3, 1994: 3 pages)

·          "Tokyo's Tips for New York" (The New York Times Magazine, February 6, 1994: 2 pages)

·          "Why Do Japanese People Rarely Use Personal Checks?" (Japan Information Service, undated: I page)

·          "Pachinko Polishes a Tarnished Image" and "Salons Reap Chest Hair, Gross Profits" (The Mainichi Daily News, 1994: 1 page)

·          "Japan's Young Couples Discover the Public Kiss" (The New York Times, May 29, 1995: 1 page)

·          "The Pen Is Mightier Than the Germ?" (The New York Times, July 27, 1995:1 page)

·          "In Japan, Christmas Merrymaking Is for Lovers" " (The New York Times, December 25, 1995: 1 page)

·         "Buying Culture" (Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 6, 1994: 1 page)

INTERNET DISCUSSISON SIX CLOSED

INTERNET DISCUSSION SEVEN (POPULAR CULTURE) OPEN

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2002: ASPECTS OF JAPANESE POPULAR CULTURE II

VIDEO AND DISCUSSION: The Japanese Version

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2002: POPULAR CULTURE: THE WORLD OF MANGA AND ANIME

MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2002: POPULAR CULTURE: ADAPTATION AND INNOVATION

READING: "Tusk: Twilight of the Idols", Chapter VIII in SPEED, pages 181 - 198.

JAPAN'S CULTURAL HERITAGE
(SIX SESSIONS)  

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2002: THE WORLD OF TRADITIONAL JAPANESE DRAMA

VIDEO: The Tradition of Performing Arts in Japan

FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2002: LITERARY AND ARTISTIC IDEALS, VALUES AND SYMBOLS

LECTURE AND DISCUSSION: Myth, Fable and Folklore: Symbols in Japanese Literature and Art

READING:

ARTICLE at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebs.pdf >: Takashina Shuji, "The Decorative Principle in Japanese Painting", (Japan Echo, Volume XVII, Number 4, 1990: 7 pages)

INTERNET DISCUSSION EIGHT (ARTS AND LITERATURE) OPEN

MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2002: JAPAN'S LITERARY HERITAGE: THE TALE OF GENJI

VIDEO: "Japanese History and Literature: Classical Japan"

DISCUSSION: Literary Symbols in The Tale of Genji

READING:

"Secular and Zen Painting" and "Woodblock Prints" in ART, pages 54 - 75 and 94 - 115.

ARTICLE at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebt.pdf >: selection from The Tale of Genji: 14 pages

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2002: JAPAN'S ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE

SLIDE LECTURE: Traditional Architecture in Japan

FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2002: JAPAN'S CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURAL LANDSCAPE

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2002: THE JAPANESE GARDEN

SLIDE LECTURE: "BEYOND MOSS AND STONE"

VIDEO: Dream Window

READING: "Gardens", Chapter 6 by Audrey Yoshiko Seo in ART, pages 116 - 135.

THE POSTMODERN COMES TO JAPAN
(THREE SESSIONS)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2002: DEFINING THE POSTMODERN IN JAPANESE CULTURE

DISCUSSION: From Traditional to Postmodem in Japanese Culture

VIDEO: "Struggle for Hope" (excerpt)

QUIZ FOUR (CULTURE) DUE

INTERNET DISCUSSION NINE (POSTMODERN CULTURE) OPEN

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2002: THE POSTMODERN IN LITERATURE

DISCUSSION: A Postmodern Short Story by Haruki Murakami

READING:

ARTICLE at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebu.pdf >: Haruki Murakami's short story "Barn Burning" from his collection The Elephant Vanishes: 18 pages

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2002: ASPECTS OF THE POSTMODERN IN POPULAR CULTURE

RESEARCH ESSAY PRELIMINARY DRAFT DUE

EDUCATION, THE ECONOMY AND POLITICS IN TODAY'S JAPAN
(FIVE SESSIONS)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2002: EDUCATION IN JAPAN

DISCUSSION: Education in Contemporary Japan

READING:

"Hiro and Yoshihara: The Best and the Brightest", Chapter VI in SPEED, pages 147 - 164.

ARTICLES at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebv.pdf >:

·          "Japan's Education Factory" (Business Tokyo, April 1990: 5 pages)

·          "In Japan, They even have Cram Schools for the Cram Schools" (Wall Street Journal, January 13, 1988: 2 pages)

·          "Japan's Schools: Why Can't Little Taro Think?" (The Economist, April 21, 1990: 3 pages)

·          "True or False: The Japanese Have Exams for Everything" (The New York Times, March 10, 1997: 1 page)

INTERNET DISCUSSIONS SEVEN, EIGHT AND NINE CLOSED

FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2002: EDUCATION FOR SOCIALIZATION - INCULCATING VALUES

JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT THREE DUE

MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2002: PATTERNS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

LECTURE AND DISCUSSION: Doing Business in Japan --Corporate Life and the "Salary Man"

QUIZ FIVE (EDUCATION) DUE

INTERNET DISCUSSION TEN (ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL LIFE) OPEN

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2002: JAPAN'S ECONOMY IN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

VIDEO: The Colonel Comes to Japan

DISCUSSION: U.S. and Japanese Economic Relations

ROLE PLAY SURVEY QUESTIONS DUE

READING:

ARTICLES at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebw.pdf >:

·          "Japanese Managers: Are They Really Better?" (Machine Design, April 23, 1986: 5 pages)

·          "Japan's Got Us Beat in the Service Department, Too" (Wall Street Journal, 1985:1 page)

·          "Cutting Itself Down to Size: Japan's Inferiority Complex" (The New York Times, February 6, 1994: 2 pages)

·          "Fortress of Mercantilism Still Wary of Competitors" (Insight, July 18, 1988: 3 pages)

·          "Don't Blame the Japanese" (The New York Times Magazine, April 19, 1986: 4 pages)

FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2002: POLITICAL LIFE IN TODAY'S JAPAN

LECTURE AND DISCUSSION: Political Life, Past and Present

READING:

ARTICLES at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makebx.pdf >:

·          The Tremor" (The New Republic, August 9, 1993: 4 pages)

·          "Japan's Powerful Pencil-Pushers Are on Defense" (The New York Times, May 8, 1997: 4 pages)

ROLE PLAY AUTOBIOGRAPHY DUE

CONCLUDING THE COURSE OF STUDY
(FOUR SESSIONS)

MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2002: ROLE PLAYING EXERCISE: CONTEMPORARY JAPAN

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 2002: ROLE PLAYING EXERCISE: SEARCHING FOR ROOTS

QUIZ SIX (ECONOMICS AND POLITICS) DUE

INTERNET DISCUSSION ONE REOPENED

FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2002: JAPAN 2002 IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

DISCUSSION: Japan 2002 in the Light of History

RESEARCH ESSAY DUE

READING:

ARTICLES at < http://ecr.ulib.csuohio.edu/2/make/makeby.pdf >:

·          The '90s and Beyond" (The Wall Street Journal, January 30, 1989: 3 pages)

·          "Foreign Students Sense Discrimination" (Voices of Japan, January 1983: 1 page)

·         "Japan's Unmelted Minority Talks Up" (The New York Times, May 5, 1986: 1 page)

·          "Japan Isn't Ready for Illegal Aliens But It Has I 00,000" (The Wall Street Journal, undated: 2 pages)

·          "Prejudice and Black Sambo" (Time, August 15, 1988: 1 page)

·          "Working Their Way to a Sudden Death" (Japan Times Weekly, January 14 - 20, 1991: 1 page)

·          "Invisible Class" (The Wall Street Journal, June 2, 1992: 2 pages)

·          "Racism in Japan" (Emerge, July / August 1993: 2 pages)

INTERNET DISCUSSIONS ONE, THREE AND TEN CLOSED

MONDAY, MAY 6, 2002 (1:00 PM - 3:00 PM): COURSE EVALUATION SESSION

JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT FOUR DUE