Colorado College Asian Studies
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Courses on Japan
102 Elementary Japanese. Introduction to Japanese language. Students will be introduced to basic spoken and written structures of "standard" Japanese, the two Kana alphabets, approximately 70 kanji, and the development of the basic skills with attention to the cultural context. Language laboratory required. (Also listed as Japanese 101.) 2 units - Maruyama
105, 106 Beginning Japanese Skill Maintenance. Conversation and limited reading and writing practice in Japanese language. Prerequisite: 102. (Also listed as Japanese 103, 104.) 1/4 unit - Maruyama
117 Introduction to Asian Art. Introduction to Asian art in its historical and cultural context with emphasis on China, Japan, and India. (Also listed as Art History 113.) (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) 2 units - Bentley
212 Japanese Literature in Translation. This course examines the way in which post-war Japanese literature reflects the transformation and enduring tensions within Japanese society. Topics include gender roles, the family, individuality, and dissension. Of central concern is the capacity of literature to reflect massive social and economic changes within contemporary Japan and to assess the assumptions of continuity, consensus, and conformity. Works by the following writers will be included: Ibuse Masuji, Yasuoka Shotaro, Hayashi Fumiko, Kawabata Yasunari, Abe Kobo, Enchi Fumiko, and Oe Kenzaburo. Novels and short stories will be supplemented with film and readings. Discussion, reading, and writing will be in English. (Also listed as Japanese 212.) (Not offered 2003-04.) (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) 1 unit - Ericson
221 Intermediate Japanese I. The course emphasizes the development of speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills after the elementary level. Video materials supplement the course and place the language in a cultural context. Prerequisite: 102. (Also listed as Japanese 201.) 1 unit - Maruyama
222 Advanced Intermediate Japanese II. The course builds on the language proficiency gained in 201. Increased use of the written and spoken language designed to build proficiency. Prerequisite: 201. (Also listed as Japanese 202.) 1 unit - Maruyama
230 20th Century Japan. This course introduces students to the major processes shaping 20th century Japanese history. It begins by considering the nature of Tokugawa society as a means of understanding the changes wrought in the wake of the 1868 Meiji Restoration. After treating the Meiji transformation of Japanese society, the course turns to the creation of the Japanese empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, examining the ways this process impacted Japanese and non-Japanese subjects alike. The remainder of the course focuses on the empire’s slide to war and its devastating consequences, finishing with an analysis of Japan’s postwar resurrection and prosperity. By the end of the course, students should be able to identify the many causes and consequences of Japan’s rapid modernization, mid-20th century debacle, and consequent revitalization, as well as their implications for 21st century geopolitics. (Also listed as History 226.) (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) 1 unit - Williams
243 Religion in Japan. The course focuses on the strong influence of Chinese and Indian religious forms; the prevalence of religious syncretism; the centrality of ancestor veneration; views of nature and of sacred space; the tendency toward this-worldly, material concerns; the wide variety of "new religions" in Japan. (Also listed as Religion 243.) (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) 1 unit - Gardiner
250 Topics in Asian Studies: Word and Image in Chinese and Japanese Art: This course will examine the relationship between literature and art in Chinese and Japanese tomb art, painting, prints, and ceramics. Due to its thematic nature, the course will not provide a comprehensive Asian art survey. In China, we will examine Confucian texts and Sima Qian's Records of the Historian in relation to the Wu shrines; and Neo-Daoist writings in relation to the Seven Sages to the Bamboo Grove tomb engravings. Then we will consider allusion sin Song painting to Tang and Song poetry; and the literary basis for Ming dynasty drama illustrations and printing playing cards. In Japan, we begin by examining Heian court poetry in relation to court art. We then consider the relationship between Zen writings and medieval monochrome ink paintings; and the role of the Zen church in the shifting aesthetics of the tea ceremony. The course concludes by investigating ironic juxtapositions of word and image in ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Prerequisite:100 level AH course or COI (AH 200.) 1 unit- Bentley
250 Topics in Asian Studies: Fantasy and the Fantastic in Japanese History and Literature. This course surveys changing approaches to fantasy and the fantastic in Japanese literature and culture from antiquity to the present. Drawing on elements of both elite and popular culture - including myths, history, plays, fables, ghost stories, graphic novels, films and fiction - the course explores the historical roots of the hyper-stylized imagery and aesthetics of contemporary arts, such as anime. A close reading of the history of the evolving narrative styles and sensibilities provides an in-depth perspective on how popular cultural forms critique historical experience and orthodox discourse in Japan. (Also listed as History 200, Comparative Literature 200, Japanese 250) (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) 1 Unit - Ericson, Williams
250 Topics in Asian Literature & Culture: Hero! Honor, Outlaws & Order in East Asian History and Literature. From China's legends of Warring States assassins to the bloody epics of Johnny To; from Japan's medieval Tale of the Heike to Beat Takeshi's contemporary gangster dramas, this course explores East Asian visions of the heroic -- and their social underpinnings -- from the fourth century BCE to the present. Questions this course considers are: Are heroes outsiders or insiders? How do visions of the heroic change from the 'premodern' to the 'modern' eras? How do the media of cultural transmission change over the same period? How does the emergence of the nation-state shape representations of the heroic? Course texts include: Sima Qian's biographies of the assassin-retainers; the Tale of the Heike, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Outlaws of the Marsh, samurai autobiography, The Forty-Seven Ronin, as well as films by Akira Kurosawa, Johnny To, Chen Kaige, and Kitano Takeshi. (Also listed as History 200. ) (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) 1 unit - Williams
251 Japanese Women Writers. Japanese women writers wrote the most heralded and poetic diaries in the classical literary canon; this celebration of women's literary contributions is an anomaly among world literatures. Yet for over five hundred years, women's literary voices were silenced before reemerging in the modern era, when a renaissance of "women's literature" (joryu bungaku) captured popular imagination, even as it confronted critical disparagement. This course traces the rise, fall, and return of writing by women and the influence of attitudes toward gender on what was written and read through a wide array of literary texts, historical documents, and cultural artifacts. (Also listed as Women's Studies 251.) 1 unit - Ericson
255 The Art of Japan. Salient developments in the art and architecture of Japan from prehistoric to modern times. Emphasis on the religious, philosophical, and historical background. Prerequisite: 155 or consent of instructor. (Also listed as Art History 255.) (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) 1 unit - Bentley
301 Advanced Japanese Language. Intensive practice in reading, writing, speaking, and comprehending modern Japanese. Prerequisite: 202 or consent of instructor. (Also listed as Japanese 301.) 1 unit (Offered as Extended Format) - Guajardo
326 Japanese Politics. This course examines whether Western political theory can be used to understand the politics of Japan. (Also listed as Political Science 326.) 1 unit - Fennell
385 Twentieth Century Japan. Japanese ways of life and thought and the interaction of local social patterns with government and the elite ideals. Focuses on the Tokugawa shogunate in the 18th century. (May be offered with Writing Emphasis.) Prerequisite: previous study of Japan or consent of instructor. (Also listed as History 328.) (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) 1 unit - Staff