2024-2025 Catalog

Japanese Studies

The Japanese Studies major enables students to delve into the study of Japanese culture through the lens of language, literature, and other disciplinary offerings on campus.

Major

Total of nine courses minimum.

Language Component

Four Japanese language courses, at the level of JAPN 201 and above.

JAPN 201Intermediate Japanese I

5 units

JAPN 202Intermediate Japanese II

5 units

JAPN 301Advanced Japanese I

4 units

JAPN 302Advanced Japanese II

4 units

JAPN 303Advanced Japanese Readings

4 units

JAPN 340Language in News Media and Advertising

4 units

JAPN 350Tales of the Supernatural

4 units

JAPN 460Translating Texts

4 units

 

Literature in Translation and Theory

Two courses out of the list below:

ASN 161/CSLC 161Modern Japanese Literature

4 units

ASN 260/CSLC 260Popular Culture and Literary Traditions of Early Modern Japan

4 units

ASN 295/CSLC 295Topics in Asian Studies

4 units

CSLC 161/ASN 161Modern Japanese Literature

4 units

JAPN 271Fiction in Japanese Literature and Film

4 units

JAPN 460Translating Texts

4 units

LING 301Introduction to Linguistics

4 units

Only ASN 295 that is listed as a Japanese literature in translation course counts for this requirement.

East Asian Electives

The remainder of the nine total required courses are chosen from the below list of East Asia-related elective courses and can include up to two 201 and above JAPN courses.

AMST 270Asian American Literature

4 units

AMST 272/ASN 272Asian Immigrants in American Society

4 units

AMST 280/DWA 246The United States and East Asia

4 units

ARTH 160Introduction to East Asian Art

4 units

ARTH 268The Japanese Woodblock Print

4 units

ARTH 360Women in Art in East Asia

4 units

ARTH 365Gender and Art in Japan

4 units

ARTH 368Japanese Painting

4 units

ASN 150/CSLC 150The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons: Masterpieces of Classical Chinese Literature

4 units

ASN 252/CSLC 252To Dwell or to Wander: Reading Confucius and Zhuangzi

4 units

ASN 253/CSLC 253The Golden Era: Literature of China's Tang and Song Dynasty

4 units

ASN 272/AMST 272Asian Immigrants in American Society

4 units

CSLC 150/ASN 150The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons: Masterpieces of Classical Chinese Literature

4 units

CSLC 252/ASN 252To Dwell or to Wander: Reading Confucius and Zhuangzi

4 units

CSLC 253/ASN 253The Golden Era: Literature of China's Tang and Song Dynasty

4 units

HIST 141East Asian Survey

4 units

HIST 248Modern Japan

4 units

POLS 227East Asian Politics: China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

4 units

RELS 160How to Live and Die Well in Buddhist Traditions

4 units

RELS 215Shamans, Sages, and Spirits in East Asia

4 units

RELS 261Between Empire and Appropriation: Buddhism in the Modern World

4 units

RELS 266Sexuality and Gender in Buddhism

4 units

RELS 276Empire and Religion in Asia and the Pacific

4 units

RELS 335Downloading Deities, Mediating Meditation, Streaming Spirits: Religion and Media in Asia

4 units

Students may also apply MAC 244 as an elective if they have enrolled in the "The Female in Japanese Film and Media" section of the course.

Students may also apply MAC 246 as an elective if they have enrolled in the "New Waves of Asian Cinema" section of the course.

Students may also apply MAC 260 as an elective if they have enrolled in the "Women Making Moves" section of the course.

Honors in the Major

Students with an overall GPA of 3.25 and a major GPA of 3.50 may submit an honors research proposal at the end of the fall semester of the senior year. If the proposal is supported by two faculty advisors, the student will enroll in a 2-unit directed research course in the spring to expand the fall semester senior comprehensive paper into a 40-page paper that will be evaluated to determine whether the student has achieved Honors.

Minor

Five courses (20 units). At least four Japanese language classes, 201 and above. Can include one Japanese literature in translation course or LING 301. Three of the five courses must be completed as Occidental courses (one of the three MUST be taken at the Eagle Rock campus. The other two may be taken at an Occidental-in-Japan campus).