JAPN250/Language and Culture

Course Evaluation Link for JPC 250 (100) #15095 Thompson: Introduction to Japanese Language and Culture (Updated for Spring 2012). Cut and paste this link.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDM1bkFaZFp2dGd6aDZlMjlLaXRlUVE6MA#gid=0

Required Supplementary Resource: Access to the Internet
* As a regular part of this course, you will be visiting the following three sites often: <http://web-japan.org/>, <http://www.japan-guide.com/ >, and <http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/basic/index.html>. The first part of all Weekly Quizzes is taken from the topic pages contained in these sites and the Q & A sections contained within them.

Recommended Supplementary Resources
* The Chubu Collection materials housed in the southwest corner of the 1st Floor in Alden Library Center for International Collections. Although you will find many resources about Japan in Japanese here, the English language newspapers such as The Japan Times will be of immediate use. Feel free to browse and even study here.
* Other Japan related web sites. See list of Japanese Newspaper Web Sites in English on page 4 of this syllabus.
* Videos, films, cassette tapes, etc. in the Alden Library and available through Ohio Link.

COURSE FORMAT
* Lecture, Discussion, Active Video Viewing, class activities and Student Reports will make up the course. We will also be interacting with students and visitors from Japan on campus when and if possible.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS
* Students are expected to attend all classes to do all assigned course work and to participate in all small/large group activities and discussions. All work must be submitted on time.

EVALUATION
1. Attendance/Class Participation (100 points)
* Attendance (i.e., your physical presence) at each class session is worth 10 points per week. (Each absence deducts 2.5 points from this total.) Attendance and Class Participation includes the degree to which each student is willing to participate in class activities according to the following criteria: preparedness (on assigned readings), eagerness, thoughtfulness, willingness to cooperative, sensitivity to other members of the class, and level of involvement, etc. Excessive absences may jeapardize a passing grade in the class since the presence in class and class participation provide a crucial experiential component to the course. (See course policy section.)

2. Homework Assignments (40 points)
* Every now and then, you will be given homework assignments related to the topics dealt with in class. These assignments will total 40 points in value.

3. News Journals (30 points)
* On two occasions during the quarter (see course schedule) each student is required to reflect on an appropriate media report pertaining to Japan. These observations should come from an English language Japanese newspaper found either on the Internet or in the Chubu Collection located in the West corner of the 1st floor in Alden Library. Students will submit their News Journal by e-mail to Dr. Thompson on the predetermined dates. The News Journals should follow the format below.

A journal entry should be no longer than one typed page in length and contain the following: A one solid paragraph description of a news story the student found interesting or informative, a second paragraph containing a reaction to the story, and a third paragraph that makes reference to course material and indicates connections of the chosen article to readings, lectures, terminology, and other information about Japan gleaned in class. The news source should also be cited in the journal entry whether it is a WWW site or hardcopy. When possible, attaching (a copy of) the article to the submission would be appreciated by the instructor. Typed assignments are preferred.

Articles in Japanese English language newspapers can be found at: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e646.html.

4. Reading Summaries (10 points)
* Students are required to keep up with the schedule of readings being covered in class. In order to hold students responsible for reading material, and to jog their memories at the beginning of class, each student will periodically take a turn at delivering a “Reading Summary” to the class. This means that during the term, each student will be required to give several oral, in-class summaries of an assigned reading assignment. Number will be determined by class enrollment figures but students usually give at least one.
* Reading Summaries are intended to give students a chance to reflect upon the readings publicly, and should be directed to the class, not only the instructor. Each Reading Summary should last approximately 4-6 minutes and consist of; a) an overview of the reading assignment, b) how the content relates to previous readings, c) what new (or previously discussed) information about Japan was conveyed, and d) further questions this reading posed for you about Japanese language and/or culture. Summaries are valued at 10pts. each.

5. Reading Quizzes (As Necessary)
* Class lectures and discussions will relate directly to the readings and expand upon them. Questions from the readings will appear on the four “Reading Quizzes” that will be administered during the quarter. Reading Quizzes will be calculated independently of oral and written reading summaries and will carry a value of 5 points each.

6. Weekly Quizzes (240 points)
* Eight quizzes will be given on Tuesdays during the quarter based upon assigned readings and the content of designated WWW pages. Each quiz (worth 30pts. each) will typically include multiple choice questions, True/False questions, and/or short answer definitions of Japanese words/expressions/concepts introduced in class. Quizzes will also cover material from class lectures, class discussions and video programs viewed in class and on Alex. When reading the WWW topic in preparation for quizzes, students should be sure to read all of the question pages indicated on the Quiz Review Sheet that will be made available prior to each quiz.

7. Final Essay (50 points)
You choose an essay topic related to Japan and/or class material, write a proposal for the essay, get it approved, then learn about it and write the essay according to the prescribed format below.

Essay Proposal: (10 points), must include:

(a) a description of the topic you are interested in,
(b) why you are interested in the topic and/or why the topic is important to you,
(c) five references you will use to investigate the topic; two can be Internet sources. One of your non-Internet sources can be one of the books we read in class.

Essay: (40pts.) [Minimum 4pgs., max. of 6pages, plus a bibliography and/or appendix] must include:

(a) An introduction of the topic.
(b) A macro level connection of essay topic to class material and themes. Must identify similarities in differences, differences in similarities between the Japanese version and the American version of your topic.
(c) A micro level connection of your topic to class material and themes. Must identify five BOPJC reflected in the topic.
(d) A thoughtful conclusion that provides an original insight based on class material.

* Use MLA style. Our Alden Library has a good reference page on-line: <http://www.library.ohiou.edu/find/style-mla.html> The important thing is not the style per se, but to use MLA as a guideline for formatting the essay and for organizing the bibliography.

* Each student's Final Essay must be written about the topic approved in the Essay Proposal Assignment.
* The Final Essay must not only discuss the approved topic, but utilize Etic/ Emic Analysis (discuss the topic from this point of view), include relevant BOPJCs, and draw from the Conceptual Tools vocabulary introduced in class to describe, interpret, and/or analyze the topic.

EVALUATION

1. Summary of Learning Activities and Percentages:
* Percentages below are approximate.

attendance/ class participation (20%)
homework assignments as (10%)
news journals (5%)
seven weekly quizzes (45%)
term paper: (20%)
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TOTAL 470 pts. (100.0%)
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2. Percentages and Letter Grades:

93% - 100% = A 73% - 77% = C
90% - 93% = A- 70% - 73% = C-
87% - 90% = B+ 67% - 70% = D+
83% - 87% = B 63% - 67% = D
80% - 83% = B- 60% - 63% = D-
77% - 80% = C+ 0% - 60% = F

COURSE POLICIES:

* If you are 10 MINUTES LATE for the class, you will lose attendance points for the day.
* If a student must miss a class session for a legitimate reason, make arrangements a day or more in advance of the class period being missed. Excused absences will be granted only with proper documentation and or if the student discusses the circumstance with the instructor BEFORE CLASS TIME. An excused absence means that a student will be allowed to make up work for that class day. It doesn’t mean the student will receive participation points for that day. In case of emergencies, leave the instructor a phone message or send an e-mail message BEFORE class time. No excuses for absences made after the missed class will be taken seriously.
* When you must miss a class session, ask your classmate to get information and materials for you. The instructor will not be responsible for this.
* Access the “Irasshai” pages for the quizzes well in advance. NO EXCUSE BASED ON THE ACCESSIBILITY OF THE SITE WILL BE ACCEPTED.
* NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Work must be submitted at the beginning of the class on the day it is due or by the time indicated in the schedule.
* Except under very unusual circumstances, “INCOMPLETES” ARE NOT GRANTED. When one is given, an “INCOMPLETE” CAN BE CHANGED ONLY TO a B+ AT BEST.
* NO ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT IS TOLERATED. Any kind of academic dishonesty will result in an F for the course and the student(s) will be referred to University Judiciaries. (Read the section on academic misconduct in the undergraduate and graduate course catalogs.)
* Excessive absences (more than 10 class periods) may result in an automatic failure of the course unless special circumstances warrant or prearrangements are made.

A Word About On-line Course Evaluations

Starting spring quarter of academic year 09/10, the Department of Linguistics at Ohio University will institute a 100% on-line system for evaluating its courses at the end of each term. At a point in the quarter no earlier than week 8, your instructor will provide you with a web address where the on-line course evaluation for your class will be located. Before the end of week 10, each student registered for that class will be expected to go to the site and complete the course evaluation by filling in the information requested. A department administrator will issue one general reminder to complete the course evaluation during the established time-window, and will monitor your participation. However, except for determining the evaluation time-window, the course instructor will not otherwise be involved in the course evaluation process. Instructors will have access to course evaluations only after they have submitted their students’ final grades. Because this new system is expected to make course evaluation more accurate, efficient, and environmentally friendly, the Department of Linguistics respectfully requests each student’s full participation in the process.
Students who don’t complete a course evaluation by the specified end date will receive one final participation request. While a lack of participation in the on-line course evaluation system will not affect a student’s grade, the Department of Linguistics would like to appeal to your sense of duty as an OU student to do your part in letting instructors know what kind of experience you had in their class. Course evaluations are one of the few ways that instructors and department administrators have of monitoring the quality of the learning experience for students. Please help us help you by filling out an on-line course evaluation for the class you take.

If you have any other questions about on-line course evaluations in the Department of Linguistics, consult with your instructor, or feel free to contact to instructor or any department administrator at any time.

For Weekly Quizzes, go to the Web sites and addresses provided in the Quiz Review.

The Web addresses of several Japanese newspapers in English

Asahi Newspaper Index: English: <http://www.asahi.com/english/english.html>
The Japan Times: English: <http://www.japantimes.co.jp/>
The Daily Yomiuri On Line: English: <http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm>

A few more of the hundreds of other useful Japan related sites

Asian Net: Information about Japanese business, government and education.
< http://www.asahi.com/english/english.html>
J-Guide at Stanford: Stanford University's links menu to Japanese information. Includes lists of search engines and other indices.
< http://jguide.stanford.edu/>
Japan Studies Network Forum: This new site for Japanologists, set up by the Japan Foundation, has useful links to organizations, libraries, mailing lists, and other resources for people in Japan studies. Emphasis on government and social science information, but many links to language-related organizations and people as well.
< http://www.jsnet.org/>
Teach Yourself Japanese:
<http://www.geocities.com/takasugishinji/japanese/index.html>

Japanese National Flag and National Anthem: <http://www.timwerx.net/culture/japan/hinomaru.htm>

Ikebana: <http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/virtual/ikebana/ikebana.html>

Japanese Embassy Newsletter <http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/JNindex.htm>

Many other sites are out there! Let Dr. Thompson know if you find an especially good one!