JAPN 309: Japanese Literature in Translation
Course Description
This course explores early Japanese prose and poetry to detect native motifs that continue into modern literature. Dramatic scripts, I-Novels, surrealistic fiction, and contemporary authors including Yoshimoto Banana and Murakami Haruki will be read and written about in a student-created literary online diary. Taught in English.
Units: 4
This course explores early Japanese prose and poetry to detect native motifs that continue into modern literature. Dramatic scripts, I-Novels, surrealistic fiction, and contemporary authors including Yoshimoto Banana and Murakami Haruki will be read and written about in a student-created literary online diary. Taught in English.
Units: 4
Reflective Narrative
This course contributed to the fulfillment of MLO 2 (Culture), as I gained a broad overview of Japanese Literature, from the Heian works “The Tale of Genji” and haiku, to more modern works of fiction, like Akutagawa Ryunosuke’s “The Nose.” All of the literature presented were translated into English. However, because this course examined works from many periods, I was able to explore the literary styles of specific time periods, and the underlying culture and literary thought of the time. From this class, I came to recognize the nature of Japanese prose in general, which has a lyrical flow and descriptive emphasis, even through the translated word. For this course, I completed a comparative essay examining the evolving themes of modern and pre-modern Japanese prose of famous authors from both periods. Through taking this course, I gained an understanding of a different literary style heavily informed by cultural reference and a long history, just like how American and European literature is informed by Greek classics. Since this course was an introduction to the many literary periods, I wish to expand my knowledge of Japanese references in prose and poetry, and to further explore this, read more extensively from what are considered Japanese “classics.”
Work Samples
309_litz_literaturethemes.pdf | |
File Size: | 89 kb |
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