Japanese Section

Welcome to Japanese at Swarthmore College! We offer a range of courses in Japanese language, literature, and culture, which are integrated into a broad program of Asian Studies at Swarthmore College and further offerings in Japanese language, history, culture and society in the Trico community.

Students of Japanese can take advantage of a rich environment for language study, including intensive introductory language courses, language tables and chat hours with native speakers, multimedia resources, and opportunities for study abroad. Explore this site for more information on our faculty, courses, special events, and study abroad options.

Featured Course: LITR 021J/ JPNS 021. Modern Japanese Literature

An introduction to Japanese fiction from the Meiji Restoration (1868) to the present day, focusing on how literature has been used to express the personal voice and to shape and critique the concept of the modern individual. We will discuss the development of the influential mode of personal narrative known as the “I novel,” as well as those authors and works that challenge this literary mode. In addition, we will explore how the personal voice in literature is interwoven with the great intellectual and historical movements of modern times, including Japan’s encounter with the West and rapid modernization, the rise of Japanese imperialism and militarism, the Second World War and its aftermath, the emergence of an affluent consumer society in the postwar period, and the impact of global popular culture and the horizon of new transnational identities in the twenty-first century. All readings and discussions will be in English.

Fall 2007. Kaneko.
1 credit.