Doshisha University

While deepening exchanges between Japanese students and international students, this lecture provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between Japan, China, and other Asian countries from both historical and contemporary perspectives. It aims to provide an understanding of global society in the 21st century. Among them, as clues for thinking about how two countries face each other; real-life culture shock experiences; misunderstandings due to expressions in Japanese, Chinese, and other foreign languages, and social and cultural differences.  This course aims to think of international relations based on misunderstandings and grassroots forces that are not the logic of international politics, but ta the individual level, such as what can a person living between Japan and China do?  The main format of spring semester classes is expected to be (1) group discussion, (2) group work for research assignments, and (3) group activities for reading. The language used is a combination of Chinese and Japanese, and the Chinese level of Japanese students does not matter. The main topics for the spring semester are cultural diversity and recognition of others.

<Level IV>
Target Students: Those who have completed and mastered elementary level studies.
Course Goals: To develop understanding and command of the 100 important intermediate sentence patterns for further improvement of the four skills of reading, listening, speaking, and writing. To master the 4,000 basic words and 800 basic Chinese characters.
<Reading Comprehension A>
Goal: To understand slightly complex passages and sentence structures.
Contents: Reading of passages on current topics such as simple newspaper articles.

Target Students: Those who have partially completed elementary level studies.
Course Goals: To master the grammatical expressions learnt at the elementary level, as well as to develop understanding and command of upper elementary and intermediate level grammar and to improve the four skills of reading, listening, speaking and writing. To master the 2,000 basic words and 500 basic Chinese characters.
Contents: Mastering the elementary level grammar and developing understanding and command of grammar using an upper elementary level textbook, followed by introduction of basic sentence patterns of the intermediate level using an intermediate level textbook. Improving the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing through various class activities designed for developing each skill. Mastering the 2,000 basic words and 500 basic Chinese characters.

This course is considered a continuation of the course, "Special Topic in Japanese Culture A" and aims to deepen understanding of Shinto and Zen Buddhist traditional Japanese culture through three cultural experiences. The course provides an overview of Japanese religious culture and consider the religious consciousness of the Japanese people as seen in Oni and Mononoke, etc, in Japanese anime.
 

The course instructs on the origins of Shinto, as well as Shinto thought; the period of shrine establishment; histories of the shrine maiden; rituals; music; history, and development of Dance in Japan. This section also covers Shintoism and Kotodama (the philosophy of words and spirits) and Kodaimoji (ancient scripts.), as well as the philosophy of Budo (Martial arts). Then, the course provides a general overview of the development of Buddhism in Japan, including the development of Japanese Zen Buddhism and its wide range of cultural influence. It covers the history and thought of Zen Buddhism; its words; the relationship between Zen and Martial arts; Zen painting, as well as a Zazen experience. Through these studies and experiences, students will learn the characteristics of Japanese culture.

If a child born to Japanese parents were raised by a Chinese national in China, legal issues aside, could the child really be called Japanese? Also, if a child born to an American couple were raised in a Japanese family in Japan, would that child have American characteristics? Therefore it can be said that people shape themselves through culture, which includes family relationships, language, eating habits, bodily movements, annual events, weddings, and funerals. This course focuses on traditional Japanese culture from the perspective of education and human development.

Target Students: Those who have partially completed elementary level studies.

Course Goals: To master the grammatical expressions learnt at the elementary level, as well as to develop understanding and command of upper elementary and intermediate level grammar and to improve the four skills of reading, listening, speaking and writing. To master the 2,000 basic words and 500 basic Chinese characters.

Contents: Mastering the elementary level grammar and developing understanding and command of grammar using an upper elementary level textbook, followed by introduction of basic sentence patterns of the intermediate level using an intermediate level textbook. Improving the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing through various class activities designed for developing each skill. Mastering the 2,000 basic words and 500 basic Chinese characters.

<Level IV>
Target Students: Those who have completed and mastered elementary level studies.
Course Goals: To develop understanding and command of the 100 important intermediate sentence patterns for further improvement of the four skills of reading, listening, speaking, and writing. To master the 4,000 basic words and 800 basic Chinese characters.
<General 1-5>
Goal: To develop balanced, intermediate-level proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Contents: Learning the 100 most important intermediate sentence patterns and vocabulary and improving reading comprehension with an intermediate level textbook. Developing command of intermediate Japanese through short sentence composition exercises. Increasing vocabulary by learning both the words introduced in the textbook as well as additional related words. Improving the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing by understanding the textbook and exchanging opinions on it.

Target Students: Those who have partially completed elementary level studies.

Course Goals: To master the grammatical expressions learnt at the elementary level, as well as to develop understanding and command of upper elementary and intermediate level grammar and to improve the four skills of reading, listening, speaking and writing. To master the 2,000 basic words and 500 basic Chinese characters.

Contents: Mastering the elementary level grammar and developing understanding and command of grammar using an upper elementary level textbook, followed by introduction of basic sentence patterns of the intermediate level using an intermediate level textbook. Improving the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing through various class activities designed for developing each skill. Mastering the 2,000 basic words and 500 basic Chinese characters.

This course is for students with at least one year of prior study of Japanese. The goal of this course is for students to acquire well-balanced basic proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and to develop an understanding and command of basic grammar and its usage. Students practice listening comprehension and pronunciation using videotapes and CDs. They learn conversational expressions and phrases necessary in daily life, fundamentals of written expression, and how to read and write short passages on topics familiar to them using previously learned sentence patterns and vocabulary. By the end of term, students master 1500 basic words and 300 basic kanji. 

This course is for students with at least one year of prior study of Japanese. The goal of this course is for students to acquire well-balanced basic proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and to develop an understanding and command of basic grammar and its usage. Students practice listening comprehension and pronunciation using videotapes and CDs. They learn conversational expressions and phrases necessary in daily life, fundamentals of written expression, and how to read and write short passages on topics familiar to them using previously learned sentence patterns and vocabulary. By the end of term, students master 1500 basic words and 300 basic kanji.