MLO 2: Japanese Culture
2.1 Students develop a comprehensive understanding, appreciation, and knowledge of Japanese culture: perspectives (ideas, beliefs, attitudes, values, philosophies), practices (patterns of social interactions) and products (both tangible and intangible, for example, art, history, literature, music).
2.2 Students develop analytical and critical thinking in areas such as how Japan’s cultural background influences modern Japanese life, how to compare their own culture with the Japanese culture, or how Japanese culture relates to other world cultures in an age of global inter-relatedness.
2.1 Students develop a comprehensive understanding, appreciation, and knowledge of Japanese culture: perspectives (ideas, beliefs, attitudes, values, philosophies), practices (patterns of social interactions) and products (both tangible and intangible, for example, art, history, literature, music).
2.2 Students develop analytical and critical thinking in areas such as how Japan’s cultural background influences modern Japanese life, how to compare their own culture with the Japanese culture, or how Japanese culture relates to other world cultures in an age of global inter-relatedness.
MLO Reflective Narrative:
The courses that I took to satisfy the major learning outcome 2 such as JAPN 215, JAPN 302, JAPN 307, and JAPN 311 were courses taught in English and Japanese. These courses taught me various aspects of Japanese culture through the use of readings, lectures, and research papers. JAPN 302 was taught using only Japanese and required all students to speak mainly in the target language in all class and group discussions. The textbook used was a target language book and all assignments were completed in Japanese. This course also satisfied the culture portion of the MLO, as the course discussed the history of Japan from the Heian period, until modern era. Another course, JAPN 311, has taught me about some of the contemporary social issues that Japan faces. This course explored these issues weekly through different articles and group discussions on hikikomori, gender role issues, and many others. JAPN 311 is also a GWAR course and through the class we have written blog posts, an article review, and a research paper in order to explore these issues more. This course was very interesting to take after my year abroad in Japan as I was able to recognize some of the issue discussed during the class.