Japanese Culture and Society - Syllabus | JPN 3500, Study notes of Japanese Language

Download Japanese Culture and Society - Syllabus | JPN 3500 and more Study notes Japanese Language in PDF only on Docsity! JPN 3500 MWF 3:00-3:50 pm Charles Perry (PC) 416 JAPANESE CULTURE AND SOCIETY Spring 2011 Instructor: Masako Kubota Office Hours: by appointment Email: mkubo001@fiu.edu COURSE DESCRIPTIONS: The aim of this course is an understanding of Japanese culture and society. The course will highlight various social traditions and cultural elements of Japanese society, specifically religion, traditional arts, marriage and family, health and economy. Through a multidisciplinary approach, the course will explore both historical as well as contemporary issues concerning Japan. COURSE OBJECTIVES: By the end of the semester, students should have an understanding of the nature of the geography of Japan, the variety of Japanese religion, literature, and traditional culture as well as popular culture, education and broad background of contemporary Japan. Additionally, students should have realized significantly more about themselves and their “own” culture. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: The class format will include lectures, films, and class group discussions. Each student will complete 3 class exams, a discussion leading, one page papers on Japanese culture and society and PowerPoint presentation. There will be a heavy emphasis on classroom discussions, so students must be prepared for every class meeting. All written work must be typed, using a 1” margin all around, a 12 point font letter size and a word count listed at the top of the page. The one page papers will need to be submitted, every two weeks, through Moodle-turnitin as well as in hard copy form. COURSE TEXT BOOKS: Varley, Paul. Japanese Culture, Honolulu, University of Hawai’i Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8248-2152-1 Additional readings will be provided by instructor. DESCRIPTION OF CLASS ASSIGNMENT 1. IN CLASS EXAMS: There will be three exams in this course. The format will include multiple choice, matching, and short answer. Test questions will be derived from lecture, class discussion and films. Tests cannot be made up. If an emergency arises, it is imperative that you contact the instructor BEFORE the test date. II. ONE PAGE PAPERS One page in length paper about trendy Japanese culture and society should be submitted every other Monday; the date and time is stated in Moodle. III. DISCUSSION LEADING Each student will be assigned to be a discussion leader. The discussions are meant to take the reading material to a more critical level, involving students to generate their own questions to be analyzed during class. IV. POWERPOINT PRESENTATION The course requires students to present a PowerPoint on an aspect of Japanese culture and society. The topic for the paper must be approved by the instructor. The number of slides should be limited to ten. An abstract of the power point should be turned in by March 11. COURSE GRADE DISTRIBUTION Attendance and group Discussion Class participation 20% One page paper 15% Three exams 45% PowerPoint presentation 20% GRADING SCALE: A 93-100 A- 90-92 B+ 87-89 B 83-86 B- 80-82 C+ 77-79 C 73-76 C- 70-72 D+ 67-69 D 63-66 D- 63-66 F 0-59 COURSE POLICIES: I. ATTENDANCE and CLASS PARTICIPATION It is important for students to attend class in order to be successful in this course. If a student arrives early or leaves late it is BOTH disruptive to the lecturer and students alike. To