Japan

This course is for students learning Japanese as their mother tongue, first language, or heritage language. Through this course, students will acquire the foundation of Kanji learning and master reading and writing of about 600 Kanji and expand their vocabulary. Those who have completed " Japanese 6" may take this course with the approval of the JLP director.  

This course presents the origin, development and methodology of the different approaches to the study of human social behavior. It also explores the processes of social behavior; social attitudes; patterns of interpersonal relationships, psychological structure, and the functions of various groups.

This course studies the nature of immigration policy and politics in Japan. In comparative immigration literature, Japanese policy is characterized as highly restrictive, reflecting a preference for an ethnically homogenous society. However, large-scale migration flows to and from the Japanese archipelago occurred under the Japanese empire, and more recently, immigration has increased ethnic and cultural diversity in some local communities. As Japan faces the demographic challenge common to advanced industrial societies of a shrinking labor force, management of immigration and the social integration of foreign residents/immigrants assume an even greater importance for public policy. While retaining a comparative perspective, we discuss immigration in Japan in terms of legal framework; policy making; public discourse, and views of immigrant communities themselves.

This course introduces the R system as a programming language. Covering standard regression methods and then tackling more advanced methods, the course guides students through the practical, powerful tools that the R system provides. The emphasis is on hands-on analysis, graphical display, and interpretation of data. By the end of the course, students are expected to have gained a mastery of using the software R to perform data analysis.  

Course enrollees are assumed to have basic knowledge of statistics and mathematics and are encouraged to install the R system onto their home computer. 

This course is designed for students who have some experience learning Japanese, aiming to enhance one's reading and writing skills as well as to acquire the skills to use elementary-level vocabulary and grammar. The course design is based on sentence structures and grammatical
patterns learned in the textbook, "Elementary Japanese for Academic Purposes Vol. 1". 

Textbook: Elementary Japanese for Academic Purposes Vol. 1 (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies Press).

This course reads canonical works of great Japanese literature from the early twentieth century, with a focus on their perceptions of modernity. Thematically, the course is divided into two parts. The first half explores works written during the Meiji period to understand how they conceptualized 'modernity,' 'the West,' and their own identities. The writers discussed in this section include Higuchi Ichiyo, Natsume Soseki, Mori Ogai, and Nagai Kafu. The second half of the course addresses works by modernist and Marxist writers, examining how their concepts of 'modernity' and their relationships with 'the West' evolved as Japan expanded its influence into Asia. This part includes an analysis of the literary representation of modernity in the works of Tanizaki Junichiro, Yokomitsu Riichi, Hayashi Fumiko, Kobayashi Takiji, Edogawa Rampo, and Kawabata Yasunari.

All readings course are in English translation therefore the ability to read the Japanese original work is not required. Knowledge of modern Japanese history and culture is recommended. 
 

This courses offers a survey of the history, doctrines and practices of Buddhism, with particular focus on Indian, Chinese and Tibetan Buddhism. The course seeks to gain an understanding of what Buddhists believe and practice; how Buddhism has changed and adapted itself to different eras and cultural contexts, as well as the characteristics of the various schools of Buddhism and the differences among them.