Fall 2005

JPN 384 • Reading Japanese Literature

Course Description

In this class, we will read short stories in the original Japanese by representative twentieth-century authors. The focus of the course will be to improve reading skills, especially overall comprehension and speed, as well as to develop the ability to do close readings of select passages. We will also work on the art of translation and on analyzing the stories as literary works. Vocabulary lists will be provided for the majority of texts, but students will be expected both to become increasingly competent at looking up words in the dictionary on their own and at working without dictionaries to achieve general comprehension.

Texts

Kunikada Doppo, "Gen Oji" (1897) Mori Ogai, "Fushinchu" (1907) Natsume Soseki, "Yume Juya" (1908) Shiga Naoya, "Kinosaki ni te" (1917) Akutagawa Ryunoskue, "Mikan" (1919) Kawabata Yasunari, selections from Palm of the Hand Stories (1920's) Tauji shosetsu, stories by Ito Sei and Tanizaki Junichiro (1943)

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