Mar 29, 2024  
College Catalog 2019-2020 
    
College Catalog 2019-2020 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

JA 320 - From Murasaki to Murakami

4.00 credits.
This course will introduce students to Japanese literature from the classical period to the modern, in a variety of genres, starting from the oral traditions of myth and poetry of Kojiki and Manyoshu, the great masterpieces of classical Japanese prose depicted in the Genji Monogatari, plays from the feudal period, Heike Monogatari and Sonezaki Shinjuu, early modern novels such as Kokoro and Hakai, and contemporary fiction and personal histories that have gained critical acclaim and popular success, such as Masks, Kitchen, Norwegian, Wood, and Black Rain, among others. Students will not only learn to understand the historical contexts of these works in terms of genre, intent, audience, themes, aesthetics, gender relations, religion and spirituality, but will also engage with literary theories that undergird our understanding of literary production and appreciation. Students will also learn how to apply that understanding in their own writing in the form of research papers and short reflective reaction papers.