JAPAN 70
Images of Japan: Literature and Film
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Knowledge of Japanese culture, literature, or language not required. Introduction to visual and textual images of Japan's literary heritage, including documentary and feature films based on Japan's literary classics. Letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2024 - I took this class to fulfill GE requirements and Major requirements. This class was really enjoyable. Make sure you go to lectures though. If you go to lectures and incorporate what the professor teaches into your weekly assignments/writings, then it's not that hard to get an A. Weekly assignments and exams are all graded by the TAs and not the professor, so make sure you quickly figure out what your TA expects from your assignments so that you can get a good grade. Every week, you had to read like 20-30 pages of some Japanese work that's been translated to English and/or watch a Japanese movie. The class is organized by timeline. So you'll learn about movies/literary works from this decade of Japanese history, then the next, and so on. As long as you can connect what you read/watched to some aspect of that historical period, you'll do well on the weekly assignments. Would recommend as a GE.
Spring 2024 - I took this class to fulfill GE requirements and Major requirements. This class was really enjoyable. Make sure you go to lectures though. If you go to lectures and incorporate what the professor teaches into your weekly assignments/writings, then it's not that hard to get an A. Weekly assignments and exams are all graded by the TAs and not the professor, so make sure you quickly figure out what your TA expects from your assignments so that you can get a good grade. Every week, you had to read like 20-30 pages of some Japanese work that's been translated to English and/or watch a Japanese movie. The class is organized by timeline. So you'll learn about movies/literary works from this decade of Japanese history, then the next, and so on. As long as you can connect what you read/watched to some aspect of that historical period, you'll do well on the weekly assignments. Would recommend as a GE.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2019 - I loved Japan 70 with Kanesaka! I was pretty nervous to take the class, since it didn't have many reviews, but it ended up being one of my favorite classes ever. Every week, we got assigned 1 reading and 1 film to watch that both related to a certain topic (i.e. geishas, samurai, etc.) I felt as though the class was pretty reading-heavy though, and not so much with films. For homework, you had to upload a 400-word reading response every week to CCLE. Both the midterm and final was an essay that you had a week to write. The topics were pretty difficult, but both the professor and my TA were such a big help with both essays! If Casey Martin is a TA for the class, TAKE HIM! He was such a good TA, who was so so helpful in his office hours and discussion sections. Overall, the class was very enjoyable and pretty chill if you put in the work!
Spring 2019 - I loved Japan 70 with Kanesaka! I was pretty nervous to take the class, since it didn't have many reviews, but it ended up being one of my favorite classes ever. Every week, we got assigned 1 reading and 1 film to watch that both related to a certain topic (i.e. geishas, samurai, etc.) I felt as though the class was pretty reading-heavy though, and not so much with films. For homework, you had to upload a 400-word reading response every week to CCLE. Both the midterm and final was an essay that you had a week to write. The topics were pretty difficult, but both the professor and my TA were such a big help with both essays! If Casey Martin is a TA for the class, TAKE HIM! He was such a good TA, who was so so helpful in his office hours and discussion sections. Overall, the class was very enjoyable and pretty chill if you put in the work!
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2017 - I really loved taking this class. The only criticism I have with Mr. Lippit was his voice. He is very soft-spoken, and even with a microphone, if there was a minor disturbance, it was very hard to hear him. However, the class itself was both engaging and interesting. Each week had a different theme of literature, consisting of a short story/book and a movie. I have to admit, during the first half the semester, the movies were rather long but the stories were relatively short. The opposite occurred during Weeks 7-10. Section is considered mandatory, as attendance is worth 10% of your grade. I would definitely take this class again; its workload was minimal at best. All you have to do is write a 1 page report double-spaced every week. The midterm and final were pretty straightforward (the final is non-cumulative). If you have the opportunity, definitely take this class!
Spring 2017 - I really loved taking this class. The only criticism I have with Mr. Lippit was his voice. He is very soft-spoken, and even with a microphone, if there was a minor disturbance, it was very hard to hear him. However, the class itself was both engaging and interesting. Each week had a different theme of literature, consisting of a short story/book and a movie. I have to admit, during the first half the semester, the movies were rather long but the stories were relatively short. The opposite occurred during Weeks 7-10. Section is considered mandatory, as attendance is worth 10% of your grade. I would definitely take this class again; its workload was minimal at best. All you have to do is write a 1 page report double-spaced every week. The midterm and final were pretty straightforward (the final is non-cumulative). If you have the opportunity, definitely take this class!
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