Written and oral assignments or tests, and by examination. An Invitation to Contemporary Japanese. This unit explores the principal modes of cultural expression in modern China, Indonesia and Japan. Lectures will discuss literature, cinema and other cultural forms in those countries. Students are introduced to the concept of art as social practice and to the skills necessary for critical analysis.
All materials are in English.
Students who have substantial prior knowledge of Japanese, equivalent to HSC level, may enrol directly in JAPN 200. Approximately 200 new Kanji characters are introduced along with intermediate level grammatical structures. Further, in the course of this unit, as well as learning Japanese, students will be acquiring some valuable generic skills that can be utilised in studies in other disciplines, in employment and in future learning for personal development, particularly cross-cultural communication skills. Written and oral assignments or tests, and by examination. The purpose of the study of culture in this unit is as a means for understanding the society and people of Japan better, rather than as a descriptive examination of cultural artefacts or practices for their own sake.