JSP - Japan Studies Program (Tokyo International University)

The Japan Studies Program's elective courses are designed to give students an opportunity to gain specific knowledge about Japan in numerous fields of study. Varying courses in politics, economics, sociology, and the arts are offered. Courses may include an optional field trip which takes advantage of local resources and connects the class lectures to the students surroundings. Field trips give students the chance to learn, see, and experience aspects of Japan which could not be experienced in similar courses at their home universities.
Courses (excluding 'Independent Fieldwork Studies' and 'NIPPON Topics') consist of 25, ninety-minute class periods which equals 4 TIU credits.

History of Modern Japan	Power in Japanese Politics & Society
Introduction to Japanese Literature	JJapanese Economic Development

History of Modern Japan

This course will examine the history of the Japanese archipelago in its transition from tradition to modernity. The course will explore the emergence of modern Japan out of the centralized feudal order of Tokugawa rule in the late 18th century. The first part of the course will focus on the internal changes and external pressures in the late Tokugawa period.

Major themes we will explore include bureaucratization, feudalism, commercialization, urbanization, and proto-industrialization. Second, we will seek to understand the causes of the Meiji Restoration and subsequent attempts to construct a modern nation-state in Japan. In our examination of the Meiji period (1868-1912), the course will be attentive to the ways in which the past has shaped modern Japanese conceptions of tradition and national identity. Third, we will examine the period of Greater Taisho (1900-1930) through to the end of the Second World War. Along with the democratization of prewar Japan, we will consider the rise of fascism, the emergence of mass culture, the mobilization for war, and the impact of Japanese imperialism on East Asia. Through this broad cultural, social, and intellectual study of Japan's path from tradition to modernity, this course will explore the creation of the modern Japanese nation.

4 TIU Credits
26, 90-minute classes

	*Instructor: Jason Karlin, Ph.D*

Power in Japanese Politics & Society

This course is an introduction to selected themes in modern Japanese politics and society. We will look at politics in general, in the sense of who has power and how it is exercised, and more specifically at electoral and party politics. The topics include nation-building - with a focus on gender and minorities, the legacies of the pre-War and Occupation periods, elections and the party system, and citizen participation in politics.
In addition to required weekly readings, the course materials include a documentary, a narrative film and selected fiction. Course requirements include a field-trip to the Diet (and, depending on schedules, a meeting with a politician); weekly critical reviews of the reading; participation in class discussions; an in-class midterm; and a final exam.
The course will encourage students to conduct primary research. We will discuss the substance and style of contemporary Japanese politics through analyzing the field-trip and media representations of politics.

4 TIU Credits
26, 90-minute classes

	*Instructor: Gill Steel, Ph. D*

Introduction to Japanese Literature

This course looks at major works and genres from Japan's classical and
medieval periods. Fictions such as the Tale of Genji, diaries including
those of Ki no Tsurayuki and Murasaki Shikibu, poetry from the earliest
times on, as well as many other works are covered.

When examining writing from a millennium ago, it becomes necessary to
look not just to the words on the page and their literary quality, but
also to the many historical, social, cultural, and religious aspects
that permeate them. This course introduces these aspects to give
students a greater appreciation of both classical Japanese literature
and Japan in general.

4 TIU Credits
26, 90-minute classes

	*Instructor: Scott Spears*

Japanese Economic Development

This course is designed to examine the processes of Japanese economic
development. Events happen in a particular space/time, and there are always contextual reasons for why it was/is/will be there. Process of Japanese economic development is not an exception. Japan did not establish economic power out of nowhere, and this did not necessarily benefited equally to everyone and everywhere. Examining Japanese economic development spatially and temporally, therefore, is critical to understand the history, context, changes, and potential concerns that
Japan have at present and in future.
Studying the Japanese economic development is more than just studying
increase of GDPs, changing stock prices, and remembering company names.
The characteristics and qualities of economic development processes become more evident by studying factors such as environment, culture, social norms, and politics. By studying the Japanese economic development, this course will not only explain the current role that Japan plays in the global economy but also it will help you better understand context of Japan and its people (society, politics, cultures and environments) as they relate to you and your life, something I expect international students to be more familiar with.

4 TIU Credits
26, 90-minute classes

	*Instructor: Taro Futamura, Ph.D*