Courses are taught in Japanese. May be repeated with different topics. A close reading of selected novels, short stories, poems, and diaries by Japanese women from the tenth century to the present which reveal the personal, social, aesthetic and intellectual concerns of women in different periods of Japanese history. Focus on the changing role of women in Japanese society, the role of women writers as social critics, and cross-cultural differences and similarities in women's issues. Discussion of literature in English translation is integrated with slide-lectures on Buddhist painting and sculpture, picture scrolls, castle decoration, woodblock prints, the tea ceremony, gardens, and the No, Kabuki, and puppet theatres.
Course is taught in English.
Analysis of each work in terms of characterization, themes, structure, style and as an expression of social problems or intellectual issues in modern Japanese society. Course is taught in English. Conducted in Japanese. Student may repeat course for credit when topics vary. Ties together various threads of the Japanese Studies program and gives students an opportunity to apply their knowledge to contemporary issues in Japan.