Major in Japanese

Major Curriculum

Requires 29 hours, including three advanced language courses beyond JPN 201. Study abroad in Japan is also required. Students may take up to fourteen hours of Japanese language courses, three hours of which (either JPN 231 or JPN 291) may substitute as a Japanese literature, film, and culture elective. Under special circumstances, a student may substitute an approved intensive immersion program in the U.S. for the study abroad requirement. A minimum C average is required for all courses in the major.

Required major courses:

JPN 220  Third-year Japanese I (4)
JPN 230  Third-year Japanese II (4)
JPN 231  Fourth-year Japanese (3) or JPN 291  Special Topics in Japanese
EAL 375  Senior Research Seminar (3)

Select three electives in Japanese literature, film and/or culture:

EAL 219  Major Works of Japanese Literature I (3)
EAL 220  Major Works of Japanese Literature II (3)
EAL 241  Gender in Japanese Literature (3)
EAL 253  Japanese Film: Themes and Methods (3)
EAL 270  Contemporary Japanese Culture (3)

Select one of the following Japanese history and/or religion courses:

HST 246  Japan before 1600 (3)
HST 247  Japan since 1600 (3)
HST 347  The Rise of Asian Economic Power since WWII (3)
HST 348  Samurai and Geisha: Fact, Film, and Fiction (3)
REL 363  The Religions of Japan (3)
REL 381  Zen Buddhism (3)

Select one course in East Asian/Korean/Chinese literature, film, or culture:

EAL 221  Themes in Chinese Literature I (3)
EAL 222  Themes in Chinese Literature II (3)
EAL 223  Traditional Chinese Literature (3)
EAL 231  Early 20th-century Chinese Modernism (3)
EAL 252  Chinese Cinemas (3)
EAL 271  Mass Culture in Modern China (3)
EAL 272  Fiction and Film from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Beyond (3)
EAL 273  Kung Fu China: Culture, Narrative, Globalization (3)
EAL 275  Survey of East Asian Cultures (3)
EAL 279  Korean Cinema: History, Gender, and Genre (3)
EAL 285  Contemporary East Asian Cinema (3)
WGS 363  Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Korea   (3)

1. To communicate effectively in the Chinese/Japanese language, use culturally appropriate manners in both written and oral formats, and discuss comfortably a range of topics in general, personal, and professional contexts.
2. To understand East Asian literary and cultural works in multiple (textual, historical, regional, global, theoretical, etc.) contexts.
3. To produce scholarship that incorporates critical thinking, planned research, organized writing, engaging presentations, and/or creative application.
4. To demonstrate an empathetic, engaged, and ethical perspective on culture and cultural studies.

To graduate with the designation “Honors in Chinese Language and Culture,” following completion of EAL 375, the student must enroll in EAL 376, submit an honors-quality research paper, successfully defend the paper in an oral examination, and earn an overall GPA of 3.0 with an average of 3.3 on work in courses taken as part of the major in Chinese. For additional information, students should consult their Chinese Language and Culture major advisor or the EAL 375 instructor.