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

218JAPN2003.Introduction to Japanese literature (6 credits)This general survey interdisciplinary content course deals with Japanese novels, poems, and plays. Theaim of this course is to provide students with a basic knowledge of the historical development ofJapanese literature. The course covers Japanese myth, monogatari, waka, renga, haiku, noh, kabuki,joruri, and literary works by selected modern writers.Assessment: 70% coursework, 30% examination.Examination: A two-hour written examination at the end of the first semester.Prerequisite: Basic Japanese language knowledge is an advantage.JAPN2010.Japanese business: an anthropological introduction (6 credits)(This course is also offered to second and third year non-BA students for inter-Faculty broadeningpurposes.)This interdisciplinary content course - taught by lectures and tutorials - focuses on various aspects ofJapanese business. It is particularly concerned with the social organization and culture of the Japanesesalaryman, and deals with such varied topics as company socialization, decision-making, managementprocedures, gender relations, leisure activities, sake drinking, and so on. The course is open to bothsecond- and third-year students of Japanese Studies, as well as to students from other departments andfaculties who may have an academic interest in its contents.Assessment: 50% coursework, 50% examination.Examination: A two-hour written examination at the end of the second semester.JAPN2011.Anthropology of Japan (6 credits)(This course is also offered to second and third year non-BA students for inter-Faculty broadeningpurposes.)This interdisciplinary content course - taught by lectures and tutorials - is designed to provideundergraduate students specializing in Japanese Studies with a comprehensive introduction to, andunderstanding of, certain aspects of contemporary Japanese society. As such it will focus on suchthemes as comics, tourism, sexuality, and TV dramas.Assessment: 50% coursework, 50% examination.Examination: A two-hour written examination at the end of the first semester.JAPN2012.Education in Japan (6 credits)(This course is also offered to second and third year non-BA students for inter-Faculty broadeningpurposes.)This interdisciplinary content course is taught in lectures and tutorials, and examines education in Japanfrom several angles. It will start with an introduction to the history and development of educationalpolicies and practices in Japan from the Tokugawa through to the postwar period. We will then examinethe contemporary educational system, looking at its distinctive characteristics, and asking what it aimsto achieve and how effective it is. We will consider not only the structure of the educational system, butalso the content of education, including school practices. We will then look at present-day discussionsabout education in Japan, its successes and failures, and the direction it should take in the future. Wewill also examine teaching and learning outside the public education system, in settings such asworkplaces, sports clubs, and music lessons, and ask if there are distinctive approaches to teaching andlearning that have been developed in Japan.Assessment: 60% coursework, 40% examination.Examination: A two-hour written examination at the end of the first semester.