The Major

Prerequisite

The successful completion of four semester courses in Japanese: 126, 246, 326, and 327 (24 credits) or the equivalent.

Requirements

34 credit total:

1. Required Courses (10 credits)
   • 135 Japanese Art and Culture
   • 436 Contemporary Japanese I
   • 437 Contemporary Japanese II
2. Common Electives (3 credits from among the following):
   • 140 Introduction to Religion in Japan
   • 143 Japanese Literature: Classical and Medieval
   • 144 Japanese Literature: Modern
   • 145 Postwar Japanese Literature
   • 147 Manga Anime
   • Asian Studies 135: Buddhism East and West
   • History 116: History of Japan
3. EITHER Option 1: LITERATURE AND CULTURE CONCENTRATION (21 credits)

   12 credits from among the following Language Electives:

   • 432 Readings in Modern Japanese I
   • 490STA Problems and Methods of Translation
   • 532 Media Japanese I
   • 536 Advanced Modern Japanese I
   • 537 Advanced Modern Japanese II
   • 597F Business Japanese

   and 9 credits from among the following Literature and Culture Electives:

   • 235 Japanese Performing Arts
   • 353 Japan through Its Afflictions
   • 375 Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
   • 382 Food and Society of Japan
   • 391S Japanese Women Writers
   • 391T Tokyo through Literature & Film
   • 494RI* Communicating in Japanese
   • 494SI* Shinbun—Newspapers as Modern Culture
   • 556 Introduction to Classical Japanese
   • 557 Introduction to Classical Japanese II
   • 570 Introduction to Japanese Reference & Bibliography
   • 580 Teaching Methodology I
   • 590STA Manuscript Japanese
   • 597F Business Japanese
   * Japanese 494SI and Japanese 494RI can be taken as elective courses only if they are not used to satisfy the Integrative Experience requirement.
4. OR Option 2: CULTURE CONCENTRATION (21 credits from among the following)
   • 235 Japanese Performing Arts
   • 353 Japan through Its Afflictions
   • 375 Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
   • 382 Food and Society of Japan
   • 391S Japanese Women Writers
   • 391T Tokyo through Literature & Film
   • 432 Readings in Modern Japanese I
   • 490STA Problems and Methods of Translation
   • 494RI* Communicating in Japanese
   • 494SI* Shinbun—Newspapers as Modern Culture
   • 532 Media Japanese I
   • 536 Advanced Modern Japanese I
   • 537 Advanced Modern Japanese II
   • 556 Introduction to Classical Japanese
   • 557 Introduction to Classical Japanese II
   • 580 Teaching Methodology I
   • 590STA Manuscript Japanese
   • 597F Business Japanese
   * Japanese 494SI and Japanese 494RI can be taken as elective courses only if they are not used to satisfy the Integrative Experience requirement.
5. Integrative Experience - 3 credits from among the following:
• 494RI Communicating in Japanese
• 494SI Shinbun - Newspapers as Modern Culture
6. Junior Year Writing
• 381 Junior Year Writing

Joint Major in Japanese and Linguistics

(See Linguistics section)

Restrictions

A cumulative GPA of 2.00 is required in courses used to satisfy the major requirement; no Pass/Fail option in such courses; only six credits from other institutions in the Five College consortium may be applied to the major; students who begin the major at an advanced level must take enough courses at that level to accumulate the required number of credits from the major; double majors need to complete the Junior Year Writing requirement in only one of their majors. No student who passes the program’s foreign language exemption exam may enroll in 110/120/126/127/246/247.

 

For further information, contact: 

Contact: Stephen Forrest
Office: 441 Herter Hall
Phone: (413) 545-4950
Email: sforrest@asianlan.umass.edu

OR

Contact: Reiko Sono
Office: 331 Herter Hall
Phone: (413) 545-4947
Email: rsono@asianlan.umass.edu