Japanese

Major Minor Courses in Japanese Course sequence

The study of a non-Western language offers new perspectives that are intellectually stimulating and culturally enriching. A knowledge of Japanese also opens the door to many career opportunities in business, science, research, tourism, teaching, and more. Japan has the world's second largest economy, advanced technology in many areas, and a popular culture that is an increasingly significant influence on the American cultural mainstream. In North Carolina, speaking Japanese can facilitate employment with one of the 150 Japanese companies located throughout the state. Japan has the third largest foreign investment in North Carolina, and is second only to Canada as an export market for North Carolina.

Japanese is the most commonly taught Asian language and the fifth most commonly taught foreign language overall in the U.S. In 2002, more than 52 thousand American college students were studying Japanese. The Department of Asian Studies offers Japanese language courses, advanced literature and culture courses in Japanese, and Japanese cultural studies courses taught in English. Students can major or minor in Japanese, or simply choose Japanese to satisfy their foreign language requirements.

Major concentration in Japanese
Within the major in Asian Studies, students may take a concentration in Japanese, which requires eight courses, in addition to JAPN 101, 102, 203, and 204 (Elementary and Intermediate Japanese). Six must be language courses beyond JAPN 204 (the second semester of Intermediate Japanese), chosen from the following:

JAPN 305: Advanced Japanese
JAPN 306: Topics in Japanese Society and Culture
JAPN 408: Japanese Journalism
JAPN 409: Japanese Modernism
JAPN 410: Topics in Contemporary Japanese Literature
JAPN 411: Food and Culture in Japan
JAPN 412: Making Music in Japan
JAPN 490: Topics in Japanese Language and Literature
JAPN 517: Literary Japanese (not regularly offered)
JAPN 518: Literary Japanese (not regularly offered)
JAPN 519: Structure of Modern Japanese Language
JAPN 590: Advanced Topics in Japanese Language and Literature

The remaining two courses must be chosen from among the following:

ASIA 54: First-Year Seminar: The American Life of Japanese Women
ASIA 58: First-Year Seminar: Chasing Madame Butterfly
ASIA/INTS 457: Globalization in East Asia/East Asianized Globalization
ASIA 692H: Senior Honors Thesis II
CMPL/ASIA 379: Cowboys, Samurai, and Rebels in Film and Fiction
CMPL/ASIA 380: Almost Despicable Heroines in Japanese and Western Literature
CMPL/ASIA 481: Rhetoric of Silence: Cross-Cultural Theme and Technique
CMPL/ASIA 483: Cross-Currents in East-West Literature
CMPL/ASIA 486: Literary Landscapes in Europe and Japan
JAPN 160: Introduction to Japanese Literature in Translation
JAPN 161: Geisha in History, Fiction, and Fantasy*
JAPN 162: Japanese Popular Culture
JAPN 261: Japanese Theater
JAPN 375: The Culture of Modern Imperial Japan, 1900-1945
JAPN 376: Colonial East Asia/Postcolonial Japan
JAPN 377: Cultural Studies of Early Modern Japan
JAPN 378: Introduction to Japanese Film and Animation
JAPN 381: Women and Work in Japan
JAPN 384: Women Writers in Japanese Society
JAPN 482: Embodying Japan: The Cultures of Beauty, Sports, and Medicine in Japan
LING/JAPN 563: Structure of Japanese

* JAPN 161 cannot be taken for credit by students who have taken ASIA 53, the First-Year Seminar course on the same topic.

Approved courses taken in UNC-Chapel Hill--sponsored study abroad programs may count toward the concentration in Japanese. Students taking a concentration in Japanese are strongly encouraged to choose from the following courses to fulfill some of the general education requirements or as electives:

ANTH/ASIA 586: Gardens, Shrines, and Temples of Japan
GEOG/ASIA 265: Eastern Asia
HIST/ASIA 134: Modern East Asia
HIST/ASIA 287: Japan's Modern Revolution
HIST/ASIA 288: Twentieth-Century Japan
POLI/ASIA 226: Government and Politics of East Asia
POLI/ASIA 440: Government and Politics in Japan
RELI/ASIA 183: Asian Religions
RELI/ASIA 284: The Buddhist Tradition: East Asia

With the approval of the associate chair of Asian Studies, a course in directed readings (ASIA 496 or JAPN 496) may also count toward the concentration. Before registering for ASIA 496 or JAPN 496, a student must obtain the approval of the associate chair and of the faculty member who will supervise the independent study project.

Of the eight concentration courses, at least six must be passed with a grade of C (not C-minus) or better. No course in the concentration may be taken pass/fail.

Minor in Japanese
The minor in Japanese consists of four language courses beyond JAPN 203 (the first semester of Intermediate Japanese), chosen from among the following:

JAPN 204: Intermediate Japanese II
JAPN 305: Advanced Japanese
JAPN 306: Topics in Japanese Society and Culture
JAPN 408: Japanese Journalism
JAPN 409: Japanese Modernism
JAPN 410: Topics in Contemporary Japanese Literature
JAPN 411: Food and Culture in Japan
JAPN 412: Making Music in Japan
JAPN 490: Topics in Japanese Language and Literature
JAPN 517: Literary Japanese (not regularly offered)
JAPN 518: Literary Japanese (not regularly offered)
JAPN 519: Structure of Modern Japanese Language
JAPN 590: Advanced Topics in Japanese Language and Literature

Courses in Japanese

JAPN 101: Elementary Japanese (4). Introduction to Modern Japanese with text and supplementary materials. Hiragana and katakana scripts are introduced. Weekly class hours devoted to basic sentence pattern exercises, speaking and writing practice, and creative application. Fall. FL.
JAPN 102: Continuation of Elementary Japanese (4). Prerequisite: JAPN 101. Continued beginning course of Modern Japanese with text and supplementary materials. Approximately 150 kanji are introduced. Focus on basic sentence pattern exercises, speaking and writing practice, and creative application. Free conversation encouraged. Spring. FL.
JAPN 203: Intermediate Japanese (4). Prerequisite: JAPN 102. Emphasis on situational Japanese, verb conjugations, conjunctions, and approximately 150 new kanji. Memorization of dialogs, speaking practice, and creative application expected. Participation in weekly Japanese table encouraged. Fall. FL.
JAPN 204: Continuation of Intermediate Japanese (4). Prerequisite: JAPN 203. Continued emphasis on situational Japanese, verb conjugations, other grammar points, and approximately 150-200 new kanji. Memorization of dialogs, speaking and writing practice, and creative application expected. Participation in relevant extracurricular activities encouraged. Spring. FL, FI.
JAPN 305: Advanced Japanese (3). Prerequisite: JAPN 204. Written Japanese introduced to students who have learned more than 400 kanji. Entire class conducted in Japanese. Comparable to intensive intermediate level taught in Japan to nonnative speakers. Fall. FI.
JAPN 306: Topics in Japanese Society and Culture (3). Prerequisite: JAPN 305. A study of geography, history, social structures, customs, and traditions of Japan. Class conducted entirely in Japanese. Spring. BN.
JAPN 408: Japanese Journalism (3). Prerequisite: JAPN 306. Uses newspaper and magazine articles and television reports to introduce journalistic writing and contemporary social and cultural issues. Class conducted in Japanese. BN.
JAPN 409: Japanese Modernism (3). Prerequisite: JAPN 306. This course instructs students in how to read pre-war forms of modern Japanese and introduces them to the writers and ideas of the Modern influential between the years 1907 and 1930. Class conducted in Japanese. BN, LA.
JAPN 410: Topics in Contemporary Japanese Literature (3). Prerequisite: JAPN 306. This course introduces students to the popular writing, both fiction and nonfiction, designed for mass-market consumption in contemporary Japan. Class conducted in Japanese. BN.
JAPN 411: Food and Culture in Japan (3). Prerequisite, JAPN 306. Advanced Japanese course designed to develop Japanese skills and deepen appreciation of Japanese cooking. Students will develop the ability to discuss and write about topic-oriented issues in Japanese. BN.
JAPN 412: Making Music in Japan (3). Prerequisite, JAPN 306. Students will learn a history of postwar Japanese music as an integral part of Japanese society and culture, and try to understand what messages each song attempts to communicate. BN, VP.
JAPN 490: Topics in Japanese Language and Literature (3). Prerequisite: JAPN 306. Possible areas of study include business Japanese, Japanese-English translation, and scientific technical Japanese. May be repeated for credit as topics change.
JAPN 496: Independent Readings in Japanese (1-3). By departmental permission. For the student who wishes to create and pursue an independent project in Japanese under the supervision of a selected instructor. Maximum three credit hours per semester.
JAPN 519: Structure of Modern Japanese Language (3). Prerequisite: JAPN 306. Introduction to phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics of modern standard Japanese. Class conducted entirely in Japanese.
JAPN 590: Advanced Topics in Japanese Language and Literature (3). Prerequisite: JAPN 306. A fifth-year Japanese course. Topic varies by instructor. Possible topics include Japanese literature, popular culture, and media. Course may be repeated for credit.

Course sequence policy
JAPN 101 through 306 (the first three years of the language sequence) must be taken in order, unless students demonstrate by taking the placement test that, through studying or living abroad or studying at another institution, they have gained sufficient proficiency to enroll in a higher-level course. Admittance to higher-level courses without having completed the prior sequence will only be allowed based on the results of the placement test. Beyond JAPN 306, students are not required to follow the course sequence. Enrollment in a higher-level course concurrently with JAPN 306 may be permitted only at the discretion of the instructor.

For related courses taught in English, please see the complete list of courses.