This beginners' unit introduces basic communication skills in understanding and speaking Japanese. Students will also learn to write the two Japanese syllabaries and approximately 60 kanji characters and to recognise at least 100 kanji characters in context. Relevant socio-cultural information is integrated with the language learning.

This unit develops both the basic communication skills and the learning skills introduced in semester one. Students will continue to learn to use and understand Japanese in meaningful, everyday contexts. They will be able to write more than 150, and to recognise at least 200 kanji characters in context. Relevant socio-cultural information is integrated with the language learning.

This unit consolidates basic grammar and introduces intermediate grammar, through grammar tutorials, communicative methods and reading and writing practice. By the end of the semester, students should be able to keep up a conversation for a short time in a dialogue, to write short passages without the assistance of dictionaries, to read narrative texts, and to recognise the difference between written and spoken modes of communication in Japanese. Students will be able to write approximately 200 kanji and to recognise about 300 kanji.

This unit aims to consolidate basic grammar and introduce intermediate grammar through grammar tutorials, communicative methods and reading and writing practice. By the end of the semester, students are expected to be able to sustain a conversation about a selected topic for several minutes in a dialogue, to write a well-structured short Essay without the assistance of dictionaries, and to read Japanese texts on a wide variety of topics. They will be able to write approximately 300 kanji and to recognise about 400 kanji.

This unit aims to develop students' speaking, writing and reading skills for the intermediate level of Japanese, so that they are able to use Japanese in a variety of situations. Students will be expected to achieve the following linguistic skills: switch to appropriate speech style in formal and informal situations; express opinions and thoughts; write about 350 kanji and recognise at least 600 kanji. Writing and reading practice will consolidate grammatical, lexical and cultural knowledge.

This unit aims to consolidate and extend intermediate level linguistic skills, through the acquisition of conversational strategies such as notions of apology, reasoning, opinions and explanations. Besides oral practice, writing and reading practice will help strengthen grammatical, lexical and cultural knowledge. Students will be able to read about 850 kanji and write about 500 kanji by the end of the semester. The above aims will be achieved by exploring various topics relating to contemporary Japan through authentic materials.

This unit of study aims at fostering socio-cultural understanding and appreciation of Japanese literature by reading short stories. Students are expected to develop reading skills while enjoying the contents and contexts of the stories they read. The comprehension of Japanese literary texts enables students to gain an insight into the writers' themes and expressions and is relevant to contemporary life. English translations will be used in conjunction with Japanese material. Students are expected to develop a critical appreciation of Japanese literature with its social backgrounds.

This unit aims to explore the new Japan and its youth cultures and to guide students to understand and broaden their knowledge of changing aspects of Japanese culture and society. Topics from Japanese traditions through to contemporary popular culture will be analysed. Learning activities include reading media texts (e.g. newspaper articles), video analysis, discussion, research and video conferences. The unit also provides students with opportunities to pursue their interests and develop cultural knowledge and communication skills.

This unit explores the historical validity of key motifs of Japanese traditions. Through the liberal exploration of primary historical sources including texts, pictorial sources and material artifacts, students will learn of such diverse topics as early religion, imperial authority, the lives of the court and military elites (samurai), Zen monastic practice, medieval aesthetics, geisha, and the tea ceremony. By separating stereotype and cliche from history, we will attempt to construct a more sober yet ultimately more viable narrative of early Japanese history and culture.

This unit places the modern and contemporary history of Japan within its East Asian context. We will examine a number of key events and subjects pertaining to the relations between Japan, China and Korea. Doing so, we will touch sensitive and controversial topics, become aware of differing views of history prevalent in these countries, and understand why the historical question constitutes a major political issue in East Asia.

Foreign perceptions of Japan cluster around two stereotypes: feminized images of elegance and submissiveness, epitomized by geisha, and hypermasculine images of violence, exemplified by samurai. A long tradition of gender subversion, cross-dressing, and androgyny in Japanese culture speaks for a more nuanced vision of masculinity and femininity. Throughout the unit, we will examine the formation and subversion of gender roles as they emerge in a variety of classical and contemporary Japanese fiction and nonfiction genres.

This online unit is for language learners. It explores issues of translatability, of moving between languages at a range of levels from words to discourse. It equips students to use language learning as a window on cultural concepts, and to develop communicative competence in their target language.

This unit surveys the connection between literature and revolution by investigating the ways in which literary texts and movements across the world have influenced radical responses to the status quo, questioning, and provoking a re-conceptualisation of prevailing values and traditions. But how and when do literary experiments become revolutionary? Are they the same in different cultures? Could a pattern of synergies connecting literary with political and social revolutions emerge from a historical as well as cross-cultural investigation?

Science Fiction is one of the most interesting explorations of human future. Yet it addresses a number of social, political and existential issues that refer to the present: dilemmas, phobias and hopes of a world traumatised by war, disease and internal contradictions. Through the comparative study of novels and movies, this unit explores how the future, from a promised land of a great utopia, has become the dreadful exile into a dark dystopia.

This unit of study involves a range of learning activities for further development of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Classes are divided into two components: communication and reading. In communication classes exercises will include discussion, short essays, role-plays, short reading passages and translation exercises. Reading will be focused on various types of contemporary authentic non-fiction texts including newspaper articles. By the end of this unit of study, students will be able to read approximately 1100 kanji.

The learning activities of this unit of study are designed to consolidate and extend skills acquired in JPNS3621. Classes are divided into two components: communication and reading. In communication classes, exercises will include discussion, short essays, role-plays, short reading passages and translation exercises. Reading will be focused on various types of contemporary authentic non-fiction texts including newspaper articles. By the end of this unit of study, students will be able to read approximately 1350 kanji.

This unit aims at the further development of skills beyond the intermediate level of Japanese. The goals of the unit include the development of skills in language analysis; the understanding of unfamiliar texts of a non-specific nature; the ability to summarise, to evaluate texts critically and to appreciate authentic Japanese texts, including literary texts. At the conclusion of the unit, students will be able to write 800 kanji and recognise some 1600 kanji.

This unit aims at revising and extending students' language skills to a higher level in order to achieve confidence and proficiency in expressing views in written and spoken Japanese. Students are expected to develop analytical skills in reading a variety of contemporary texts from different genres, to evaluate information critically, and to express opinions through discussions on a wide range of research topics. Students will be able to write 1000 kanji and recognise some 1945 Joyo kanji.

This unit will present a critical examination of the culture, history and society of Japan. We will begin with some commonly held beliefs about the Japanese and, through a process of informed questioning, we will test these beliefs with reference to Japanese history, culture, economic, political and social realities.

Understanding the language and culture of Japan's past is critical to a full appreciation of the modern country. This unit introduces students to the fundamentals of classical Japanese and explores the cultural context in which that language lived. We will examine such things as temple inscriptions, ancient poems, medieval songs, and warrior scrolls.

Is Japan a unique country? What are the similarities and differences between Japan, Australia and other countries? This unit of study offers students the opportunity to explore various aspects of contemporary Japanese society and culture through reading Japanese texts in the original, through group discussions, and through cross-cultural comparisons. Students will develop their own opinions on a range of social and cultural issues while improving their reading, analytical, and both oral and written communication skills.

This unit will apply methods of linguistic analysis to explore a number of key language strategies used in Japanese to construct speakers' social identity, and their relationships both with people they are talking to (interlocutors) and people they are talking about (referents). Students will collect and analyse authentic data in a guided research project, and will use the results of that analysis in writing a critical response to the work of other scholars in the field.

This unit will provide students with an understanding of Japanese syntax, which will aid them in reading advanced texts. We will then examine some basic concepts from Translation Studies, and put these into practice through a range of texts. Students will develop their understanding of the complexities of Japanese to English translation.

The unit of study will focus on fantasy and science fiction as means of representing the Other in modern Japanese literature and popular culture. Building on Tzvetan Todorov's definition of the fantastic as a hesitation between the realistic and the supernatural, it will analyse the way in which Japanese fantasy tackles issues of modernity, gender and cultural difference in a variety of genres and media, including the novel and short story, manga, anime and film, from the Meiji period to the present.

This unit is designed for third year students to undertake a project that allows them to work with one of the University's industry and community partners. Students will work in teams on a real-world problem provided by the partner. This experience will allow students to apply their academic skills and disciplinary knowledge to a real-world issue in an authentic and meaningful way.

Interdisciplinarity is a key skill in fostering agility in life and work. This unit provides learning experiences that build students' skills, knowledge and understanding of the application of their disciplinary background to interdisciplinary contexts. In this unit, students will work in teams and develop interdisciplinarity skills through problem-based learning projects responding to 'real world problems'.

Approved course in a tertiary level institution in Japan.

Approved course in a tertiary level institution in Japan.

This unit will examine how major shifts in research questions, directions, approaches and assumptions that have happened in social sciences during the twentieth century have played out in the field of Asian Studies. Students will critically analyse the circumstances and reasons for the emergence of the discipline of Area Studies, and its specific application to the study of Asian societies. In both seminar discussion and individual projects, students will engage in case studies from their respective areas of expertise, namely Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, and Korean studies.

The unit investigates the role of Asian Studies experts as public intellectuals in Australia and in the world. Students will reflect on issues of intellectual freedom and integrity, institutional pressures and public engagement as they relate to the communication of research findings to a range of academic and non academic audiences and across a range of different media. In both seminar discussion and individual projects, students will engage in case studies from their respective areas of expertise, namely Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, and Korean studies.

In this unit you begin a substantial, independent research project in Japanese Studies. Regular meetings with a supervisor approved by the Japanese Studies Honours Coordinator will guide your progress. You will develop a plan for researching and writing the thesis, submit an ethics application if appropriate, familiarize yourself with disciplinary conventions and standards, engage with relevant literature, theories and methodologies, and submit drafts at agreed times.

In this unit you complete and submit your substantial, independent research project in Japanese Studies. Regular meetings with a supervisor approved by the Japanese Studies Honours Coordinator will guide your progress. You will continue to submit drafts at agreed times, and develop your expertise in relevant research methods and analytical skills as well as in the subject matter of your specialist topic.