J314	Japanese Literature in Translation	Spring 2013
R. Loftus		Walton Hall 144
email rloftus		x6275

Course Objectives:
To introduce students to some of the major questions and issues in modern Japanese literature. Classical poetry and narrative prose, along with theatre will be considered at the outset, but the emphasis will be on shôsetsu, Japan's version of the modern novel. This is a Writing Centered course which means that we must pay attention to the process of writing: drafting, editing, peer-review, and revising. No one writes an excellent paper in one sitting. The aim of this course is to examine how the acts of reading and writing have occurred in the context of modern Japanese culture. To this end, six modern Japanese novels have been selected, four from contemporary authors and two from writers active earlier in the modern period. Several of these novels evoke older literary and cultural practices by referring to or actually quoting lines from classical texts. Encountering such "intertextual" references will provide us with the opportunity to consider how classical Japanese poetry, prose and theatre have left their imprint on modern Japanese literature. Student Learning Outcomes: 1. Understand the significance of form and the dynamic relationship between author, reader and text; 2. Understand the challenges involved in textual interpretation and strategies to address them; 3. Understand how texts embody cultural values and are products of particular times and places. Emphasis in this course will be on in-class discussion (there will be little, if any, formal lecturing) and "writing-to-learn exercises," something rooted in the notion that we write in order to figure out what we think and what we believe. Writing is and should be a process of discovery. We will work on writing in various ways including:
	preparation and sharing with peer-reviewers of portions of your essays in draft forms focusing often on the Introduction where a specific "claim" or thesis is introduced.
	conferences with the instructor or a Wrtiing Center consultant to evaluate drafts of works in progress
	"freewrites"as a post-writing exercise to be done immediately after formal papers are collected

Course Requirements:

1. Regular attendance--no more than 3 unexcused absences--or your grade will be lowered

2. Preparation of reading assignments as indicated on the syllabus

3. Participation in in-class discussions

4. Participation in at least one Individual Conference with your professor to discuss a draft of your paper and at least one visit for a consultation at the Writing Center

5. Completion of three formal papers and various in-class writing assignments designed to develop ideas for these papers as well as submitting to and providing Peer Review.

Plagiarism and cheating are offenses against the integrity of the courses in which they occur and against the college community as a whole. Plagiarism usually consists of representing ideas that are not your own as your own so the simple solution is to attribute, i.e., provide clear indications of where you obtained your ideas or information. 

 Note: I will respect any accommodations authorized by the Office of Disabilities Services. Please tell me about these accommodations as soon as possible.

Due dates for three formal papers: Feb. 14, March 21, and May 3 Students may exercise a 24 hour "grace" option for one of their three papers--that is, be allowed an extra 24 hours to turn their paper in without penalty. However, you may only do this once during the semester.

Remember:

"There is no perfect teacher...The point is to make a sincere effort to become a perfect student of an imperfect teacher."

Fujita Issho, Zen Teacher

Major Texts:

KOKORO THE WAITING YEARS	by Natsume SOSEKI   by Enchi Fumiko
MASKS	by ENCHI Fumiko
SPUTNIK SWEETHEART	by MURAKAMI Haruki
KITCHEN	by Yoshimoto Banana
KAFKA ON THE SHORE	by MURAKAMI Haruki

NOTE: Some of these texts have explicit language, graphic scenes and "adult" themes or situations. If you are not comfortable reading this kind of material, you should speak to me and perhaps consider taking a different course.

Weekly Reading and Discussion Schedule

January 15	Introductions and Course Overview Expectations for the Course What is literature?
January 17	Read PDF from Resources section on WISE: Burch.pdf See also: Noel Burch, TO THE DISTANT OBSERVER, Ch. 2,3 On Reading and Interpreting Japanese Literature: Where do we find Meaning?
January 22	KOKORO by Natsume Soseki--pp. 1-80 Burch Final Questions Language in Kokoro I
	Soseki's likeness on the 1,000-yen note:
January 24	KOKORO--pp. 81-124 See another brief Bio of Soseki
	Becoming Modern Video
January 29	KOKORO--pp. 125-248 Kokoro Review See notes on Kokoro
January 31	Kokoro Discussion See Picture of Soseki in Middle-School See photos of gingko trees Zoshigaya Cemetary In-class Assessment Exercise and review of Preliminary Ideas for Paper #1   Question for Paper #1 on Kokoro Due February 14

 

Wednesday Feb. 6 Student Conferences for Paper #1 8:30-10:30 am 1:30-4:30 pm Friday Feb. 10 1:30-3:30 Important Note: How to Cite Internet Sources

 

February 5	Enchi Fumiko,The Waiting Years,pp. 7-55
February 7	The Waiting Years, 56-129

 

February 12	The Waiting Years, 130-203
14	Discuss The Waiting Years	Paper #1 Due
19	Tale of Genji Overview of the History of Japanese Literature Read two PDFs from Resources section on WISE: 1. Genji-Yugao.pdf 2. Genji-Aoi.pdf Background: Japanese Poetry;Types of Japanese Poems Bring four PDFs from Resources section on WISE: Manyoshu.pdf Poetry.pdf Ki-Poetics.pdf Genji-Fiction.pdf Additional Useful Materials On the Manyoshu andthe Kokinshu "Aware" and Heian Politics Site; Some more on poetry On Kokinshu and Tosa Diary author Ki no Tsurayuki On the Kokinshu, Tosa Nikki, The Tale of Genji The Genji monogatari Useful Links   Brief summary of the YUGAO (Evening Faces) chapter Another Yugao site Brief summary of the AOI (Heartvine) chapter   Genji website See more websites on the Genji Noh: DEFINITIONS, VIDEO, TEXTS; Excellent Noh Website with Play and Mask databases, etc. More on Noh; Noh and Illusion Overview of Medieval Culture   Read a Noh Play: Aoi no Uye PDF Version of Aoi no Uye is also available on WISE     Another website on Noh and its Masks
21	MASKS by ENCHI Fumiko, First part. pp. 3-59 Role of Noh in Masks?

February 26	MASKS--Part Two, pp. 61-112	Characters See my own photos of Nonomiya Some Notes on the text Masks
28	MASKS--Finish Article on Masks	See a website on Nonomiya or The Shrine of the Fields See reference to KKS poem Paper #1 Due

Links to Postmodernism; see a definition here and another link here

March 5	SPUTNIK SWEETHEART, pp. 1-53	by Murakami Haruki
7	SPUTNIK SWEETHEART, pp.54-96 Discuss SPUTNIK SWEETHEART	Look at the Question and bring in a paragraph on the topic you choose to pursue.

March 12	SPUTNIK SWEETHEART, pp. 97-210
14	Discussion of SPUTNIK SWEETHEART
19	SKITCHEN pp. 3-56	YOSHIMOTO Banana
21	KITCHEN pp. 57-105 (finish)	by YOSHIMOTO Banana Paper #2 Due

March 25-29 Spring Break; No Classes

April 2	"Moonlight Shadow" pp. 109-152	YOSHIMOTO Banana; Also, see Notes here Something on Yoshimoto Takaaki, Banana's father More on Yoshimoto Banana
4	Begin KAFKA ON THE SHORE pp, 3-104 Characters in Kafka	Murakami Haruki
9	KAFKA ON THE SHORE pp. 105-205	NYT Review; John Updike Interview with Murakami
11	KAFKA ON THE SHORE pp. 206-300	Kafka article here Another Review

April 16	Finish KAFKA ON THE SHORE pp. 301-467 Labyrinth and Dream Logic	Quotes from Kafka on the Shore More Quotes
18	Loftus Travel to Conference, No Class
23	Discuss Kafka and Kitchen
25	Discussion, Develop Ideas for Final Paper	In-class Assessment Exercise and review of Preliminary Ideas for Paper #3

Wednesday April 24 Conferences for Final Paper 8:30-10:30 1:30-3:30   Friday April 26 more times 1:30-3:30

Question for Final Paper

J314 Students Writing their Papers!

The following are useful sources which can be found in the Reference section of the library. You will be able to find background information on the authors and some analysis of their writings.

Ref. DS 805 .K633	KODANSHA ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JAPAN 8 vols.
Ref. C.52 and C.53	CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS (100+ Volumes)
Ref. PL 717. R55 1	A READER'S GUIDE TO JAPANESE LITERATURE	by Thomas Rimer
Ref PL 747.55. L48	MODERN JAPANESE NOVELISTS: A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY	by John Lewell
Ref. PN 771 .C59	CONTEMPORARY LITERARY CRITICISM
Ref. PN 771 .55	ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD LITERATURE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY	1981

Brief article : "Trends in Present Day Japanese Literature"

See "Japanorama" Commercial site for Japanese Literature	http://www.japanorama.com/fiction.html
For a site with MP3 files of Japanese Literary Texts click here

 

Print by Clifton Karhu 

Useful Sources:
1. Doris Bargen	A Woman's Weapon:Spirit Possession in the Tale of Genji
2. Kojin Karatani	The Origins of Modern Japanese Literature
3. Arthur Kimball	Crisis and Identity in Contemporary Japanese Novels
4. Noriko Lippit	Reality and Fiction in Modern Japanese Literature
5. Masao Miyoshi	Accomplices of Silence
6. Irena Powell	Writers and Society in Modern Japan
7. Thomas Rimer	Modern Japanese Fiction and its Traditions
8. Makoto Ueda	Modern Japanese Writers and the Nature of Literature
9. Michiko Wilson	The Marginal World of Oe Kenzaburo
10. H. Yamanouchi	The Search for Authenticity in Modern Japanese Literature
11. Sachiko Schierbeck	Japanese Women Novelists in the 20th Century 104 Biographies 1900-1993
12. Rebecca Copelanad	Lost Leaves: Women Writers of Meiji Japan
13. Chieko Mulhern, ed.	Japanese Women Writers: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook

See a photo of Nishi Honganji Temple.