Japanese Courses
Courses are designated JAPN in the class schedule.
100 – Japanese Conversation for Beginners (3 units)
Introduction to spoken Japanese, with emphasis on vocabulary development at the beginning levels. For students who would like to learn conversational Japanese without having to learn the writing system.
101 – Fundamental Japanese–A (3 units)
Develop listening and reading comprehension, speaking, writing and cultural awareness to communicate on a basic level. Introduction to Japanese customs, culture and civilization.
102 – Fundamental Japanese–B (units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 101 or equivalent
Continued development of listening and reading comprehension, speaking, writing and cultural awareness to communicate on a basic level. Further study of Japanese customs, culture and civilization.
203 – Intermediate Japanese–A (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 102 or equivalent
Develop listening and reading comprehension, and oral and written practice in Japanese based on cultural and literary materials. Review of grammar. Conducted primarily in Japanese.
204 – Intermediate Japanese–B (units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 203 or equivalent
Continued development of listening and reading comprehension, and oral and written practice in Japanese based on cultural and literary materials. Review of grammar. Conducted primarily in Japanese.
213 -Japanese Cultural Conversation and Composition-A (3 units)
Subjects related to Japanese culture. Helps develop Japanese oral and written proficiency through discussions, oral and written reviews, and essays. Conducted primarily in Japanese.
214 – Japanese Cultural Conversation and Composition B (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 204 or equivalent
This course focuses on a variety of topics related to Japanese culture. It helps students further develop Japanese oral and written proficiency through discussions, oral and written reviews, and composition.
299 – Directed Study (1-3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 102 or equivalent
Supervised study projects in Japanese language or literature to be taken with consent of instructor and department chair. May be repeated for credit.
305 – Advanced Japanese–A (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 204 or equivalent
Practice in four skills of advanced Japanese emphasizing reading comprehension in the context of contemporary concerns. Conducted in Japanese.
306 – Advanced Japanese–B (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 204 or equivalent
Practice in four skills of advanced Japanese emphasizing reading comprehension in the context of contemporary concerns. Conducted in Japanese.
307 – Advanced Spoken Japanese (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 204 or equivalent
Spoken aspect of advanced Japanese through dialogues, discussions and oral presentations in the context of contemporary concerns. Conducted in Japanese.
308 – Advanced Grammar and Composition (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 204 or consent of instructor
Advanced level of written expression in Japanese and cultural awareness through reading and writing on various topics. Further development of writing skills in Japanese using "kyoiku-kanji" with accurate grammar.
310 – Japanese for Business (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 204
Practical vocabulary and structure of business language, as well as the cultural background of business procedures in the Japanese business world. Conducted in Japanese.
311 – Japanese for International Business (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 204
Vocabulary and language structures for Japanese in the international business world and related economic situations. Comprehension of business terminology through conversation, reading and writing. Conducted in Japanese.
315 – Introduction to Japanese Civilization (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 204 or equivalent
Readings and lectures in Japanese literature, arts and institutions from earliest history to 1868, to develop insights into Japanese culture while strengthening facility in the language. Conducted primarily in Japanese.
316 – Modern Japan (3 units)
Prerequisites: JAPN 204
Readings and lectures in Japanese literature, arts and institutions from 1868 to the present, to develop insights into Japanese culture while strengthening facility in the language. Conducted primarily in Japanese.
375 – Introduction to Literary Forms (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 306
Introduction to literary forms and concepts of literary techniques. Analysis and interpretation of various texts. Conducted primarily in Japanese.
390 – Japanese Culture and Society: Anime (3 units)
Prerequisite: completion of General Education Category C.2
Japanese culture and society, as well as multicultural analysis of global issues as reflected in Japanese animated films. Conducted in English.
408 – Advanced Writing on Current Issues (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 308 or equivalent
This course explores current Japan-related topics with the goals of developing academic writing and broadening cultural awareness from a humanistic perspective. Discussion will include topics such as Japanese industry, technology and popular culture.
420 – Medieval Japanese Literature (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 375
Masterpieces of Japanese literature from eighth to 16th centuries and their relationship to cultural, historical and intellectual developments in these eras. Conducted primarily in Japanese.
440 – Introduction to Modern Japanese Literature (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 375
Literary use of language, literary creation, reading and critical evaluation of literary works. Reading excerpts of modern Japanese literary works on various topics. Conducted primarily in Japanese.
450 – Japanese Culture and Society in Film (3 units)
Prerequisite: at least one class from JAPN 305–308
Development of modern Japanese culture and society using film that reflects important Japanese cultural and social concepts, and ways of looking at and dealing with the world. Conducted primarily in Japanese.
466 – Introduction to Japanese Linguistics (3 units)
Prerequisite: JAPN 306 or equivalent
Analytical procedures of general linguistics as applied to phonological, semantic, morphological, syntactic and discourse aspects of Japanese. Conducted primarily in Japanese.
467 – Japanese Language and Society (3 units)
Prerequisites: JAPN 305, 306, 307 or 308, or equivalent; and JAPN 466 or equivalent
Introduces methodology for analyzing Japanese language in its social dimension. Topics include major dialectal areas in Japan and their linguistic characteristics, social class and language, and language and gender.
468 – Japanese-English Contrastive Analysis (3 units)
Prerequisites: JAPN 306, 466 (may be taken concurrently) or equivalent
Contrastive analysis of phonological, lexical, syntactic and discourse aspects of Japanese and English.
485T – Senior Seminar: Variable Topics in Japanese (3 units)
Prerequisites: JAPN 305 or 306 and at least one 400-level course in Japanese
Research and discussion of a cultural, literary or linguistic theme. Subject varies and is announced in the class schedule. May be repeated for credit with a different topic.
499 – Independent Study (1-3 units)
Supervised projects in Japanese language or literature to be taken with consent of instructor and department chair. May be repeated for credit.
