Bachelor of Arts (BA) - The University of Hong Kong

211Second and Third YearsThe Japanese Studies Programme includes courses in the language, society and culture of Japan.These are divided into language courses, language intensive courses, and interdisciplinary contentcourses and/or tutorials, each of which has different aims requiring different sets of linguistic andanalytical skills.Language courses form the backbone of the programme in Japanese Studies, since students taking upJapanese are expected to have no prior knowledge of the language. These courses are designed toprovide a balanced training in reading, writing, speaking and listening to Japanese and to take studentsfrom elementary to advanced levels of competence in each of these skills.Language intensive courses are used to back up the core language courses and are designed to broadenstudents' knowledge of Japanese through a wide range of reading materials in novels, short stories,journalism, essays, comic books and so on. The primary aim of these courses, however, is to make useof such materials to analyse and discuss various aspects of contemporary Japanese society and culture.Interdisciplinary content courses are taught by means of lectures and tutorials by members of theDepartment of Japanese Studies and by members of other departments (such as Fine Arts, History,Geography, Music and Sociology) who specialize in aspects of Japanese Studies. The aim of thesecourses is to provide students with a deeper understanding of various aspects of traditional andcontemporary Japanese society and culture.PrerequisitesLanguage Courses: There is no departmental prerequisite for admission to Japanese language I.Students may not normally enroll for Japanese language II or Japanese language III without havingsatisfactorily completed the previous level. However, students with prior qualifications in the Japaneselanguage may apply to sit for a qualifying examination without having followed the course. [Sameconditions also apply to Japanese language I(a), Japanese language II(a), and Japanese languageIII(a)]. For such students, a C-grade is the minimum requirement for acceptance into the majorprogramme in Japanese Studies. Students who obtain an overall D-grade or lower in the first yearlanguage course may be required to take a further examination and/or interview before being permittedto enter the major programme in Japanese Studies.Language Intensive Courses: All language intensive courses require knowledge of the Japaneselanguage and are open to students of Japanese language II and Japanese language III. Other studentswho have attained a comparable level of proficiency in Japanese may also apply for admission to thesecourses.Interdisciplinary Content Courses: Interdisciplinary content courses do not normally require aknowledge of Japanese (although it may prove helpful in some cases), and are open to all students in theFaculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Some courses are open to students from all faculties.Choice of courses and options is subject to the approval of the Department. Students may take optionsentirely within the Department or options which include courses offered by other departments in theFaculties of Arts and Social Sciences. In all cases students must ensure that their choice of coursesconforms to any prerequisites laid down by the department concerned.