Japanese Texts and Contexts

JPW 4131 Pilot Syllabus

Instructor: Joseph Murphy, Grinter Hall 429
Office Hours: M/W 10:00 - 11:00 and by appointment
Phone/email: 392-9107 / jmurphy@aall.ufl.edu
Class Meets: MWF Per 3 (9:35-10:25) Turl 2356

Overview: This course is designed to facilitate your move from the world of textbook Japanese, packaged and designed for presentation to the non-native speaker, into the world of written Japanese as it circulates in Japan. As

fourth year students you are quickly moving toward a milestone in your acquisition of Japanese, the point where your attention is no longer monopolized by grammar and kanji, and you begin to search the texts for meaning. From another perspective we might designate this point tanoshiku yomeru y™ ni naru tokoro or, the point where you begin to enjoy reading Japanese. From either perspective, though, your study of Japan's society and culture will begin to merge with your language study and you will move into the very select group of people who can access a given topic or issue relating to Japan as it is discussed and written about in Japan.
The course is premised on the notion that there are likely to be significant differences, at times disjuncture, between the way a given issue is taken up in English and the way it is taken up in Japanese, and that becoming aware of this difference is a first step toward meaningful cross-cultural communication. Focussing on two or three topics of current interest (which will change from year to year), the course will examine the way widely circulated written texts, from school textbooks to mass-media, from academic to opinion journals, from manga to best-selling novels, help to generate a context within which significantly different opinions and perspectives can become persuasive for the reader of Japanese.

Prerequisites: All course material and a substantial proportion of class discussion will be in Japanese. Hence JPN 3401 or equivalent study abroad is required.

Relation to JPW 4130:

Insofar as both are concerned with the way written texts inform the sensibilities and perspectives of our contemporaries in Japan, this course forms a sequence with the more properly literary JPW 4130 (Readings in Japanese Literature).

Texts : Texts will vary from year to year, but whether the topic is particle physics, cross-dressing or organ transplants, selection will always be based on the principle of accessing a given issue through the texts that define it for your contemporaries in Japan.
Issues to be addressed in the Fall 96 semester include the controversy over textbook revision, the question of Japan's war responsibility, and the question of racism in the United States. The following texts are required and will be available at the Hub and University Book and Supply (UBS, 12th and University Ave., across from the Holiday Inn).

Kokugo I, (Tokyo, Mitsumura Tosho, 1996)
Honda Katsuichi, America Gasshukoku, (Tokyo, Kadokawa Bunko, 1995)
Kobayashi Yoshinori, Gomanizumu Sengen, (Tokyo, Fus™sha, 1996)

Supplemental materials will be distributed by handout.

The course will also set aside time each week to introduce students to some of the major conduits of information in Japan, including:
a. Newspapers (Asahi, Yomiuri)
b. Monthly Opinion Journals (Bungei Shunju, Chuo Koron)
c. Academic/ Critical (Gendai Shiso Bungaku, HihyoKukan)
d. Shinsho (extensive series of well-written guides for the layman to any topic of interest. Each major publishing house has one, a peculiarity of Japanese publishing)
e. Joho guides (absolute latest information, Imidas, Asahi Keywords, etc.)

Requirements

: This class will rely heavily on discussion and analysis of readings that you prepare ahead of time. Consequently, attendance and active participation in all class meetings are essential to the success of the course and to your grade. To cut down on dictionary work, students will be asked to take turns preparing vocabulary sheets for their classmates and it is imperative that you not let your classmates down when your turn comes. Grades will be assigned as follows:

Take Home Midterm 20%
Final Translation 40
Reading Quizzes 10
Participation 25
Vocabulary sheets (timely submission) 5

Active participation means first being prepared and asking questions. Highlight passages and patterns you have trouble with in your readings and asking about them in class. It is also important to share generously your own understanding when called on, to help us collectively move our comprehension from 70 or 80% closer to 90 or 95%. Particularly on days when class is in Japanese, there is a temptation to keep your answers short to avoid mistakes. Think of your answer as a performance on a TV talk show (you have to say something!). Try to speak in natural phrases, and if you reach a block and can't find the words, don't get frustrated, find another way to say it. Finally, ask each other questions.
The final translation will be a joint effort. An untranslated Japanese text of 50 to 80 pages will be selected through consensus, with each student assigned 10 to16 pages. Our goal is concrete: to have a complete English translation in our hands at the end of the semester.

Due Dates

Mark these dates on your calendars now so that you can plan ahead.

04 Oct: Take Home Midterm (Hand in at beginning of 07 Oct class)
08 Nov: Decide text for final translation
06 Dec: First draft on final Translation due
06-12 Dec: Conferences on translation
13 Dec: Finished draft due

Syllabus

In order to retain the flexibility to speed up or slow down as our reading skills and interests dictate, assignments will typically be divided into blocks rather than day by day. We will firm up daily assignments as we get a feel for how fast the class can move.

Week 1: Intro:

26 Aug: Course Introduction
28 Aug: Japanese Proficiency Test
30 Aug: "

Week 2-5: Developing Sensibilities: Kokugo Kyoiku Textbooks

Week 6 TAKE HOME MIDTERM
(class meetings for questions and discussion)

Week 7-8--- Tsushima Yuko: The Omen (recover)

Weeks 9-15: Race and America

Honda Katsuichi's legendary piece of late 1960's reportage The United States of America provides a perspective on race relations in America that continues to shape the way the United States is imagined in Japan. Kobayashi Yoshinori's explosive bestselling manga series G™manizumu Sengen provides a 1990's perspective on Honda Katsuichi and the 1960's left.

Week 9-10: Honda Katsuichi: The United States of America
(Survery first section of each chapter. We will choose one for final 5 weeks and final translation)

Harlem (pp. 44-51)

On the Road in the South (pp. 86-93)

Japanese Wives of Black Men (pp. 176-183)

Indian Reservations (pp. 211-217)

Weeks 11-15: On the Road in the South/ G™manizumu Sengen
Wk 11 South (pp. 93-110)/ GS Episode 138
Wk 12 (pp. 111-124) / GS Episode 138
Wk 13 (pp. 124-137) / GS Episode 139
Wk 14 (pp. 137-135) / GS Episode 139
Wk 15 (pp. 145-157) / Week 16:

Course wrapup, critique, Christmas.

Final Translation for Fall 96: (Honda Katsuichi, On the Road in the South)