Japanese

Demons, ghosts, and monsters have populated the cultural landscape in Japan for centuries. Appearing in anime, manga, games, and movies, mysterious creatures continue to form the core of contemporary popular culture, and have sparked a global obsession with Japanese monsters. This course explores the cultural history of the strange and supernatural in Japanese literary, visual, and performing arts. Engaging with primary and critical sources from the eighth century to the present, the course considers the social roles that representations of the "weird" have played in Japan.

This course introduces basic grammar of classical Japanese. The class reads a wide range of original Japanese texts from the eighth to mid-twentieth centuries, including poetry, tales, legal writings, etc. 

This course is conducted in English, but since it involves translation from classical Japanese to English, having intermediate Japanese proficiency (2 years of Japanese) is recommended.

This course is designed for international students who have passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N2 level. It focuses on developing the Japanese language skills necessary for university life through a variety of practice activities, such as speeches, presentations, discussions, and role-playing.

Eligibility: B1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education (N2 in the JLPT). Ability to read about 750 basic kanji is recommended (equivalent to having completed K300).

By the end of this course, students are expected to:
・Have gained guidance for living a meaningful study abroad life by discussing career development.
・Have improved their Japanese expression skills and build interpersonal relationships.
・Have developed problem-solving skills.

This course is for Upper-intermediate Japanese students to obtain fundamental Japanese listening skills needed for attending university classes and daily life. 

Eligibility: B1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education (N2 in the JLPT).
By the end of the course, students are expected to:
- understand lectures and conversations that are complex in terms of both content and language.
- take more effective notes.
- summarize the heard information and discuss the topics with classmates.

This course is intended for beginning students to acquire daily survival level of Japanese comprehension and speaking skills. The course does not cover hiragana or katakana. 

Eligibility: Students who have studied no Japanese. 

The objectives of this course are as follows: A1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education.

• Understand and correctly use basic greetings and set phrases.
• Speak about things around oneself and interact with others using combinations of simple phrases. 
• Understand simple informative texts and brief passages about familiar topics.

This advanced Japanese course is designed to improve communication skills needed on a business setting. A theme concerning Japanese culture and society is chosen in context of "business" and students are split into groups to engage in activities, discussion, and group work concerning the selected topic. The course aims to widen student perspectives and deepen their knowledge regarding various issues related to Japan and Japanese society, while acquiring skills needed in a Japanese business setting. The program offers various theme courses and students may take multiple sections.