Japanese Literature, Modern and Contemporary

MURAKAMI-SMITH, Andrew (Graduate School of Language and Culture)

Course Objective
   The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with a range of important modern Japanese writers, while at the same time giving them a sense of the place of these writers and their works within the wider context of modern and contemporary Japanese literature as a whole.

Learning Goals
   By taking this course, students will gain a deep familiarity with the works of five important modern Japanese writers; gain broader knowledge of the context of modern and contemporary Japanese literature as a whole; and gain the skills to analyze literary works, express their opinions about them, and support those opinions with evidence from the works, opinions of literary critics, and other support.

Class Plan
   Students will:
   - Read the assigned stories and think about Discussion Questions about them (every week)
   - Discuss the stories in small groups in class (every week)
   - Post comments about them on an on-line Discussion Board in the CLE system (at least 10 times during the semester)
   - Read additional materials and serve as Discussion Leader in their small group (4 times during the semester)
   - Submit a Discussion Report on the contents of their group's discussion in class (4 times during the semester)
   - Write one Final Paper (about 5 pages in English or Japanese) on a topic relating to modern Japanese literature

	Theme	Content
Week 1	Reading Modern Japanese Literature in context	Murakami Haruki's "Afternoon in the Islets of Langerhans," Higuchi Ichiyo's "Fall Wardrobe," and Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book.
Week 2	The Pre-Modern Context: Classical Japanese Literature	Sei Shonagon, The Pillow Book (excerpts), The Tale of the Heike (excerpts), Ihara Saikaku, Five Women Who Loved Love (excerpt), Jippensha Ikku, Travels on the Eastern Seaboard (excerpts)
Week 3	Higuchi Ichiyo	"Fall Wardrobe" and "Child's Play"
Week 4	Nagai Kafu	American Stories (excerpts)
Week 5	Nagai Kafu	"The Fox" and "The Peony Garden"
Week 6	Nagai Kafu	"A Strange Tale from East of the River"
Week 7	Kawabata Yasunari	"The Dancing Girl of Izu"
Week 8	Kawabata Yasunari	The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa (excerpt)
Week 9	Kawabata Yasunari	"Chiyo," "The Curse of My Debut Work," and "One Arm"
Week 10	Okamoto Kanoko	"The Old Geisha"
Week 11	Okamoto Kanoko	"Ivy Gates" and "The Love of Kishimo"
Week 12	Okamoto Kanoko	"The Food Demon"
Week 13	Murakami Haruki	"Firefly"
Week 14	Murakami Haruki	"The Elephant Vanishes"
Week 15	Murakami Haruki	"The Second Bakery Attack" and "Afternoon in the Islets of Langerhans"

Type of Class
   Lecture + Discussion

Independent Study Outside of Class
   Required work outside the classroom will include:
   - Reading the assigned stories and thinking about Discussion Questions about the stories (every week)
   - Following the course of discussions in an on-line Discussion Board and making posts of their own (at least 10 times/semester)
   - Preparing Discussion Reports on the contents of small group discussions in class (4 times/semester)
   - Writing the Final Paper (once during the semester)

Textbooks
   There is no textbook assigned in this class. Students will be provided with reading materials through the on-line CLE system and/or as hard copies in class.

Grading Policy
   Students' grades will be based on:
   - At least 10 comments posted on the on-line Discussion Board
   - Four Discussion Reports on the contents of discussions in their small group
   - One Final Paper (5 pages in English or Japanese)