General

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YOUR COURSEBOOK WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE SCHOOL OF ASIAN STUDIES (ARTS2) FROM THE FIRST DAY OF THE SEMESTER FOR THE FIRST 2 WEEKS OF THE SEMESTER. PLEASE BRING YOUR ID CARD AND COLLECT IT BEFORE THE FIRST LECTURE. 

COLLECTION ROOM# WILL BE POSTED HERE CLOSER TO THE BEGINNING OF THE TERM.

Rooms

Tue 10: LIBRARYB10

Thu 10: LIBRARYB10

Tutorial rooms will be informed in the lecture once the semester began. No tutorial in the first week.

As a Core Course for a Major in Japanese (this means that you are required to pass this course in order to do a major in Japanese; Asian 100 Images of Asia is the other Core Course), this course offers students a brief introduction to modern Japanese history, political economy, culture, and society. It is designed for those who are taking up an academic study of Japan for the first time; previous knowledge on Japan or Japanese language is not required.

In addition to offering some basic knowledge on Japanese people and society, it seeks to help students develop skills in critically and analytically examining various aspects of Japan through reading, class discussion, and writing. Through a multi-disciplinary approach, the students are expected to learn about a multi-faceted ‘Japan,’ which is often stereotyped as a homogenous society operating with simple principles such as ‘shame’ or ‘dependency.’

The course consists of three parts: 1) MODERN HISTORY; 2) SOCIETY AND CULTURE; 3) LITERATURE AND POPULAR CULTURE. The history section provides a general historical background for the next two parts, where we will examine details of contemporary Japanese life focusing on such topics as politics, economy, working life, gender relations and minorities, literautre and popular culture. As a whole, this course attempts to bring together different issues and different disciplinary perspectives in order to facilitate a full understanding of Japan as a highly complex and dynamic society.

This course also serves as an introduction to other fields of advanced study of Japan currently available within the School of Asian Studies. It is hoped that during the course of study, each student will discover areas of interest and embark on further study of Japan.

Course Personnel

COORDINATOR

Dr. Rumi Sakamoto
Room: 417 Arts 2 Phone: ext. 84600
Email: r.sakamoto@auckland.ac.nz

LECTURER

Associate Professor Matthew Allen
Room: 45, 7 Wynyard street, Hisotory Department
Phone: ext. 88322
Email: me.allen@auckland.ac.nz

Dr. Rumi Sakamoto
Room: 417, Arts2 Phone: ext. 84600
Email: r.sakamoto@auckland.ac.nz

We are available for consultation throughout the semester. If you would like to discuss any issues that concern the course as a whole, please contact either of us and arrange an appointment.

GUEST LECTURER

Dr. Lawrence Marceau
Room: Arts2
Phone 86317
Email: l.marceau@auckland.ac.nz

Dr. Marceau, a earliy modern literature specialist, will be giving two guest lectures on Japanese literature.

Tutor: Matt Allen and Rumi Sakamoto