OSAKA UNIVERSITY SHORT-TERM STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM _

03f-08
JAPANESE LITERATURE, MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY

Andrew MURAKAMI-SMITH (Faculty of Language and Culture)

Objective
This course is a survey of Japanese fiction since 1868. Lectures will give an overview of canonical writers and the various "schools" of modern Japanese literature, while readings will give students a chance to read a diverse selection of short works by various Japanese writers.

Textbooks and Other Materials
Students will be expected to purchase one book by either Yoshimoto Banana or Murakami Haruki (examples will be shown at the first several classes) and read it by the end of the semester. Other materials (weekly reading assignments) will be provided in class.

Course Schedule
Week 1: Introduction and Overview
Week 2: Higuchi Ichiyo and the Classical Tradition
Week 3: Mori Ogai, Natsume Soseki, and Meiji Westernization
Week 4: Kajii Motojiro and Akutagawa Ryunosuke
Week 5: Hayashi Fumiko and Taisho Modernism
Week 6: Tanizaki Junichiro and the Imagination of Kansai
Week 7: Oda Sakunosuke and Osaka
Week 8: Dazai Osamu and the "Decadents"
Week 9: Kawabata Yasunari and Mishima Yukio
Week 10: Kojima Nobuo and the "Third Wave"
Week 11: Abe Kobo and Oe Kenzaburo
Week 12: Kono Taeko and Tsushima Yuko
Week 13: Nakagami Kenji. Final Examination
Week 14: Yoshimoto Banana and Murakami Haruki
Week 15: Wrap-up. Paper due
Note: Weekly reading assignments and paper topic will be specified later.

Evaluation
Evaluation will be based on attendance, participation in class, the final examination, and the paper.