Japanese B.A.

Bachelor of Arts - Japanese

College Humanities & Sciences

Catalog Year: 2015-2016

Degree Specific Credits: 55

Required Cumulative GPA: 2.5

Note: Students are required to maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 in all their upper-division JPNS courses presented in fulfillment of requirements for the Japanese major. All other courses taken to satisfy the requirements of the major or minor must be completed with a grade of C- or better; the minimum GPA required is 2.00 in all lower division work attempted in the major.

Lower Division Core Courses

Rule: Complete the following subcategories of courses:

29 Total Credits Required

Language Core

Rule: Must complete all of the following courses:

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description JPNS 101 - Elementary Japanese I
Offered autumn. Understanding of grammar and basic sentence structures are taught as a foundation for oral comprehension. The students will learn Hiragana and Katakana, two syllabic writing systems, and approximately 400 Kanji ideographs.
 5 Credits
Show Description JPNS 102 - Elementary Japanese II
Offered spring. Prereq., JPNS 101. Continuation of 101.
 5 Credits
Show Description JPNS 201 - Intermediate Japanese I
Offered autumn. Prereq., JPNS 102 or equiv. Reading and writing kanji; building oral/aural fluency.
 5 Credits
Show Description JPNS 202 - Intermediate Japanese II
Offered spring. Prereq., JPNS 201 or equiv. Continuation of JPNS 201.
 5 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 20 Total Credits Required

Culture and Civilization Core

Rule: Must complete the following course:

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description JPNS 150H - Japanese Cult & Civiliz
Offered intermittently. Same as AS and LS 210H. The historical, religious, artistic, literary and social developments in Japan from earliest times to the present.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

East Asian Studies

Note: Student must complete at least 2 East Asian studies or history courses on Japan or East Asia at any level that are not taught in the Modern and Classical Languages and Literature department for a total of 6 additional credits.

Upper Division Core Courses

Rule: Must complete all of the following courses:

Note: Either JPNS 412 or JPNS 415 may be taken to complete the 14 credits.
JPNS 411 is repeatable once.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description JPNS 301 - Advanced Japanese
Offered autumn. Prereq., JPNS 202 or equiv. Development of greater reading and speaking proficiency. Vocabulary enhancement and kanji (Chinese characters) are emphasized.
 4 Credits
Show Description JPNS 302 - Advanced Japanese
Offered spring. Prereq., JPNS 301 or equiv. Continuation of 301.
 4 Credits
Show Description JPNS 411 - Mod Jpns Wrtrs/Thinkers
(R–6) Offered autumn or spring. Prereq., JPNS 302. Introduction to the important writers, thinkers, and poets of the 20th century. Readings include a wide range of topics in the humanities, including literature, philosophy, and the arts.
 3 Credits
Show Description JPNS 412 - Intro Classical Japanese
Offered spring. Prereq., JPNS 302. Introduction to the language of the Japanese court, ca. 7th to 14th century. Essential features of grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary, and orthography.
 3 Credits
Show Description JPNS 415 - Adv Jpns for Professionals
Offered spring even–numbered years.  Prereq., JPNS 302.  A high–level professional language course covering all coordinated reading, writing, and speaking skills.  Intended for majors hoping to enter the Japanese job market and prepare for professional testing in Japan.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 14 Total Credits Required

Major Electives

Rule: Must complete 12 credits from the following courses:

Note: JPNS 392 may be taken for up to 3 credits only.
Only 3 credits from JPNS 390 (Supervised Internship) or JPNS 392 (Independent Study) may count towards the 9 credits.
Japanese 391 may only be counted as an elective when the course is a Japanese literature, Japanese pedagogy/linguistics, or Japanese cultural course not part of basic Japanese language instruction.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description JPNS 306 - Japanese for Business/Tour
Offered intermittently. Prereq., JPNS 202 or equiv. Vocabulary and idiom of oral and written communication in business and tourism. Professional, ethical practices and special etiquette.
 3 Credits
Show Description JPNS 311 - Jpns Clasc Lit Engl Trans
Offered autumn alternate years. Prereq., Composition course WRIT 101 or 201 (or transfer equiv.) with a grade of C- or better; and one approved Gen Ed writing course or WRIT 201, with a C- or better. Introduction to the classical literature of the Japanese court, ca. 7th to 14th century. Kojiki, Man'yoshu, Kokinshu, Genji Monogatari, and other major classics of the period.
 3 Credits
Show Description JPNS 312 - Jpns Lit Medieval to Mod
Offered spring alternate years. Prereq., Composition course WRIT 101 or 201 (or transfer equiv.) with a grade of C- or better; and one approved Gen Ed writing course or WRIT 201, with a C- or better. Introduction to the literature of Japan from the 15th to the 20th century.
 3 Credits
Show Description JPNS 371 - Japanese Film and Anime
This course introduces students to salient events in the hundred-year history of Japanese cinema, including the age of silent film, the golden age of film directors, the New Wave, and contemporary Japanese cinema. Students will learn about Japanese cinema as the artistic expression of individual directors; they will gain a better understanding of the history of Japanese society and popular culture; and they will appreciate some of the reasons for the long-standing interest in Japan in the history of Western film studies.
 3 Credits
Show Description JPNS 386 - Hist of Japanese Lang
Offered intermittently. Prereq., JPNS 202. Overview of Japanese language history from earliest times to the modern day. Topics include the development of writing systems, changes in phonology, and issues concerning orthography and lexicon.
 3 Credits
Show Description JPNS 390 - Supervised Internship
Offered intermittently.  Paid work experience in Japan, combined with language/culture course work by correspondence directed by UM department staff.
 1 To 12 Credits
Show Description JPNS 391 - Special Topics
(R–12) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one–time offerings of current topics.
 1 To 12 Credits
Show Description JPNS 392 - Independent Study
(R–6) Offered autumn and spring. Course material appropriate to the needs and objectives of the individual student.
 1 To 6 Credits
Show Description JPNS 412 - Intro Classical Japanese
Offered spring. Prereq., JPNS 302. Introduction to the language of the Japanese court, ca. 7th to 14th century. Essential features of grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary, and orthography.
 3 Credits
Show Description JPNS 431 - Post-War Japanese Lit
Offered spring odd–numbered years. Introduction to issues, literature, and criticism of Japanese literature from the postwar (1945) through the contemporary period, using texts in English translation.
3 Credits
Show Description JPNS 491 - Special Topics
(R–9) Offered intermittently.  Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one–time offerings of current topics.
 1 To 9 Credits
Show Description JPNS 492 - Independent Study
(R–6) Offered autumn and spring. Course material appropriate to the needs and objectives of the individual student.
 1 To 6 Credits
Show Description JPNS 500 - Readings in Japanese
(R–3) Offered intermittently. Prereq., undergraduate major in Japanese or equiv. Guided readings in a selected research field. Level: Graduate
 1 To 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 12 Total Credits Required