MLO 2: Culture
- Students develop a comprehensive understanding, appreciation and knowledge of Japanese culture: perspectives (ideas, beliefs, attitudes, values, philosophies), practices (patterns of social interactions) and products (both tangible and intangible, for example, art, history, literature, music).
- Students develop analytical and critical thinking in areas such as how Japan’s cultural background influences modern Japanese life, how to compare their own culture with the Japanese culture, or how Japanese culture relates to other world cultures in an age of global inter-relatedness.
CLICK ON THE YELLOW LINKS TO SEE EXAMPLES OF THE WORKS DONE TO ACHIEVE THE MLO.
This MLO was satisfied by completion of JAPN 311, JAPN 380, JAPN 314, JAPN 310, JAPN 313, as well as courses taken at Okayama University.
Personal Narrative
2.1 In order to develop a comprehensive understanding and appreciation for Japanese culture, I took several Japanese culture classes. Many, if not all, of my culture courses can fulfill both MLOs 2.1 and 2.2. I was able to fulfill 2.1 very much through JAPN 310: Japanese Cinema. This class took us from very old films from the Kurosawa era to the early 2000's with the film Kamikaze Girls. From watching these films, we were able to see and understand the difference in the Japanese perspective versus the American perspective on different life values. Although we watched them in film, we were also able to see different forms of art, history, literature, and music through this course. 2.2 I was able to develop a deeper understanding in how modern Japanese traditions and culture stemmed deeply from Japan's past. Through the courses taken, I was also able to see how my life and the things that I surround myself with are deeply influenced by Japanese culture. One of the classes that I took was JAPN 311: Social Issues in Japan. This class taught us some of the different issues that Japan is facing today and was able to open our eyes to the fact that not only America faces these issues. Another course that I had taken was JAPN 380: Land and People. This course, although mainly focused on the geography of Japan, also touched on issues such as the declining birth rate and the ever growing older generation. We learned that the deeply rooted expectation that women should stay home and take care of a child is a driving force to make the birth rate decline |
JAPN 311: Social Issues in Japan
As the drive to rebuild modern Japan after WWII has slowed, latent and new social problems have become visible. This course offers interdisciplinary perspectives on issues such as care of the elderly and homeless, equal treatment of minorities, gender and labor issues, domestic and world ecological concerns, and relevant institutions that promote or attack prejudice towards heterogeneous social groups. Taught in English. JAPN 380: Land and People This online course introduces the language and culture of Japan in a thematic approach. Selected topics are geography, climate, population, and industries. This course is designed to develop Japanese language skills and introduce various aspects of Japanese culture related to course topics using technology and web-based materials. JAPN380 is a hybrid course featuring synchronous and asynchronous learning. Taught in Japanese. JAPN 314: JPN Visual Culture and Media A focused analysis of historical and modern Japanese society through works of art and media including photography, film, maps, and other visual documents. Students learn to extract information from images as part of a visual analysis. They will also deal with social geographical methods for understanding population density, urban flows, economic disparities, transportation, and built environments. Students will analyze and compare what they understand about Japanese culture with other, more familiar environments. Taught in English. JAPN 310: Japanese Cinema An introductory scrutiny of major Japanese directors and genres with attention to film composition, choices of subject and character, ideas of the cinematic, and the relationship of cinema to Japanese culture and society. Students will analyze and critique films. Discussion of films will deal with the production of their historical, social, and cultural context, as well as issues dealing with popular culture and equity. Taught in English. JAPN 313: Manga, Anime, and Modern Japan Manga, Anime & Modern Japan: Reality of an Illusion - This class uses Japanese manga (cartoons) and Anime as modern mirrors that reflect the Japanese experience of rapid economic and social transformation over the past 150 years. Starting with the examination of ancient Japanese style of visual expression, in this course we will trace how popular visual texts such as Manga and Anime sketch out a parallel world that is linked both historically and culturally to the "imagined community" of the Japanese nation-state. |