Course Description:
A project-based course that looks behind the Japanese social mask to understand how Japanese people build relationships, community, and lives worth living. Covers modes of thinking and communicating, negotiating, and decision making; ethical systems; the central role of social status and hierarchical relationships; patterns of making friends and influencing others; psychological factors such as dependence and duty; and the Japanese aesthetics and ideology. (Prereq: Junior or Senior Standing)
Units: 4
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Reflective Narrative:
JAPN 306 fulfilled MLO 2 because it covered the more invisible aspects of Japanese culture and what influenced it all while discussing with Japanese exchange students to learn their personal opinions. We went over concepts such as kenkyo, uchi/soto, and shikata ga nai. For a group project, we focused on Japanese social behaviors and I went into detail on the idea of aimai ("vagueness") and how it is so prevalent in Japanese every day relationships (link). Having come back from studying abroad in Japan, this course was interesting because I was able to relate first-hand to a lot of the ideas that were presented in this course. For my final project (below) and paper (doc), I chose the topic of "Aesthetic in the Japanese Mind." Since my capstone relates to fashion, it was interesting to discover what exactly forms Japanese aesthetic and how it is evident in modern culture.
JAPN 306 fulfilled MLO 2 because it covered the more invisible aspects of Japanese culture and what influenced it all while discussing with Japanese exchange students to learn their personal opinions. We went over concepts such as kenkyo, uchi/soto, and shikata ga nai. For a group project, we focused on Japanese social behaviors and I went into detail on the idea of aimai ("vagueness") and how it is so prevalent in Japanese every day relationships (link). Having come back from studying abroad in Japan, this course was interesting because I was able to relate first-hand to a lot of the ideas that were presented in this course. For my final project (below) and paper (doc), I chose the topic of "Aesthetic in the Japanese Mind." Since my capstone relates to fashion, it was interesting to discover what exactly forms Japanese aesthetic and how it is evident in modern culture.