Japanese IV: Special Topics in Reading Japanese Literature in Japanese (310-0-20)
Topic
Reading Prewar Japanese
Instructors
Thomas Martin Gaubatz
847/491-2766
1880 Campus Drive, Kresge Hall, Office 4-345
Office Hours: varies by quarter, please contact instructor
Meeting Info
University Hall 312: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
AY 24-25 This is an advanced course in reading and translation of modern Japanese. Its goals are twofold: first, to cultivate advanced reading skills necessary to read authentic literary materials in Japanese, and second, to develop the technical skills and metalinguistic awareness necessary to produce effective English translations. Course readings focus on representations of the city of Tokyo from the early to mid-20th century in a range of prose genres; emphasis is on gaining facility in different literary styles and linguistic registers, and on developing techniques for parsing and translating texts that demand rich contextual knowledge. Primary readings are in Japanese with discussion and theoretical readings in English.
Learning Objectives
Students who complete this course are expected to be able to do the following: • Accurately parse and interpret authentic prose writing from the early to mid-20th century; read prewar Japanese orthography, including historical kanji and historical kana usage. • Analyze and compare different literary styles, linguistic registers, and expressive choices as a basis for literary translation. • Use reference sources for self-learning and independent reading, both for linguistic understanding (grammar references and dictionaries) and historical context (encyclopedias and other research tools). • Produce translations that reflect not only a literal understanding of linguistic meaning but an awareness of style, register, tone, theme, and other literary or stylistic concerns. • Describe conceptual problems surrounding the translation of cultural texts, and explain how choices made in the course of a given translation address those problems. • Describe the social and cultural associations surrounding different neighborhoods of modern Tokyo.
Teaching Method
Lecture/Discussion/Workshop
Evaluation Method
Attendance, participation, weekly translations, final presentation, final translation
Class Materials (Required)
None
Class Attributes
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Prerequisites apply, see description
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for students majoring or minoring in Asian Languages & Cultures until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken the prerequisites, if applicable.
Prerequisite: Students must have passed Japanese 211-3 with at least a C- or be placed in according to placement test results.