To be able to talk to your heart’s content about a book you like with someone who feels the same way about it is one of the greatest joys that life can offer.

-- Murakami in A Young Reader’s Guide to Short Fiction

English 370-001

Major Authors – Haruki Murakami and Japanese Literature

Class Date, Time and Place: MWF 1:00-1:50

Your Instructor: Dr. Julie Barak

Office Phone: 248-1072

Office: LHH 452

Office Hours: MWF 8:00-8:50

MW 2:00-2:50

E-mail: [email protected]

My Home Page: http://www.mesastate.edu/~jbarak

Syllabus subject to change. Changes will be announced in class.

Course Goals: 1) To become familiar with contemporary Japanese culture, 2) to be able to define and/or identify several different genres and philosophical trends in modern Japanese literature, 3) to have a basic grasp of the periods of Japanese history, 4) to read a limited selection of modern Japanese literature, 5) to read several works by Haruki Murakami, 5) to be exposed to contemporary literary criticism about Murakami’s work and 6) to discuss and write about Murakami’s work based on the knowledge gained from the previous five activities.

Course Methods: A mix of lecture, discussion, and student presentations.

Required Texts:

Enchi, Fumiko	The Waiting Years	Kodansha International
Keene, Donald	Modern Japanese Literature: From 1868 to the Present	Grove Press
Murakami, Haruki	Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman Norwegian Wood Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World The Wind-up Bird Chronicle Kafka on the Shore After Dark	Vintage
Soseki, Natsume	Kokoro	Gateway Editions

Other Expenses:

Occasional copies of articles from journals, books and magazines for your own use.

Course Requirements:
1. Daily Glossary Entries – Every day we meet, five people will share a definition from The Japanese Have a Word for it. This is our (sort of) version of Wikipedia. In order to accomplish this task, you must follow the following directions very carefully.

1) Go to the library and check out the book from the reserve desk.

2) Copy the 9 terms you are assigned. (See below.)

3) Post a short summary of your term to the Glossary on the shared K: drive file. Please alphabetize and follow the formatting conventions. You will present nine definitions, but you don’t have to post your entries to the Glossary until the date they are due.

4) Share a slightly more comprehensive summary with the class as scheduled. See syllabus for your group’s dates of presentation.

5) Save your entries in a separate file on your own computer just in case somebody makes a terrible mistake and deletes the whole K: drive file and we have to rebuild it.

2. Daily Current Event – Following the glossary entries, we’ll share current events. Every day, two people will share a summary of the day’s news from Japan. Here are two sources to go to for stories: The Japan Times Online (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/) and Japan Today. (http://www.japantoday.com/) This is a VERY brief report – no more than 2-3 minutes. Pick out items or articles to report on that you think give us a clue into the political, social and cultural issues in the nation today. See group members and reporting dates below.

If you are unable to be present on a day you have been assigned either a current event or a glossary entry, you are responsible for finding a classmate who will change days with you. THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY NO MAKE-UP DATES FOR THESE ACTIVITIES. If you don’t perform the requisite number of times, you will lose points accordingly.

3. Two papers – Both of them 5-7 pages. (Absolutely no longer than the limit, please.) The first paper will be due at midterm. The subject of this paper will be Murakami’s short fiction. The second will be due at the end of the semester. The subject will be the latest Murakami novel, After Dark. A fuller description of the assignments will be forthcoming.

4. Journal Entries – For each reading assignment, turn it a short journal in which you address the following: 1) brief plot summary of the material for the day, 2) description of the main characters you meet, 3) the important symbols and/or motifs, 4) the theme(s) of the piece or section of the piece you are assigned, 5) important quotations. For 4 and 5 include some explanation for your selection. Each day, I’ll pick up journals and mark them with +, √, or -, to indicate quality and return them to you. I will pick up the journals at the end of the semester to assess the final point total. There are 44 days when journals are due. You can skip 10 of those days at your own discretion.

Policies and Procedures:

1. Academic Honesty: Refer to the Student Handbook for college policies on Academic Honesty. You are cautioned a) against using, word for word, without acknowledgment, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, etc. from the printed or manuscript material of others; b) against using with only slight changes the materials of others; and c) against using the general plan, the main headings, or a rewritten form of someone else’s material. These cautions apply to the work of other students as well as to the published work of professional writers. (Department of English, Purdue University) Violations will be handled according to the guidelines suggested in the Student Handbook.

2. Students w/ Disabilities: In coordination with Educational Access Services, reasonable accommodations will be provided for qualified students with disabilities. Please meet with the instructor the first week of class to make arrangements. Educational Access Services can be contacted at 248-1856, or in person in Houston Hall, Room 100.

3. Tutorial Learning Center = TLC: The TLC is a FREE academic service for all MSC students. Tutors are available on a walk-in basis for many courses. Needing to ask a quick question? Seeking homework clarification? Looking for feedback on a paper? Reviewing for a test? Come to Houston Hall 110 on Mondays through Thursdays from 8AM-7PM and Fridays from 8AM-5PM to meet with one of our peer tutors. Please call 970-248-1392 with any questions.

Points and Grades:

Glossary Entries: 5 at 20 points each 100 points

Current Event: 3 at 20 points each 60 points

Papers 2 at 250 points each 500 points

Journals or Quizzes 34 at 10 points each 340 points

A = 900-1000 points, B = 800-899 points, C = 700-799 points, D = 600-699 points F = below 600

Spring 2009 – ENGL 370 – Schedule of readings and activities

Date		Reading Assignment	Activity	Assignments Due
Month	Day
Jan.	21		Lecture
	23	The New Japanese Literature Tsubouchi Shōyō, 55 Futabatei Shimei , 59 Romanticism Kunikida Doppo, 111 Naturalism Tayama Katai, 142	Lecture	Group 1 – definitions Current Event – 1 Journal
	26	Three Greats Natsume Sōseki, 124 Nagai Kafū, 159 Mori Ōgai, 232	Lecture and Discussion	Group 2 – definitions Current Event – 2 Journal
	27	Shirakaba School Shiga Naoya, 261 and 271 I-Novel Kume Masao, 288	Last day to withdraw with 90% refund
	28	Proletarian School Kobayashi Takiji, 333 Post War Dazai Osamu, 398 Hayashi Fumiko, 415	Lecture and Discussion	Group 3 – definitions Current Event – 3 Journal
	30	Two Greats Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, 300 & 307 Kawabata Yasunari, 366	Lecture and Discussion	Group 4 – definitions Current Event – 4 Journal
Feb.	2	Two more Greats Tanizaki Junichirō, 383 and 387 Mishima Yukio, 429	Lecture and Discusion	Group 5 – definitions Current Event – 5 Journal
	3		Last day to add or drop without receiving a grade
	4	3-54 of Blind Willow	Discussion	Group 1 – definitions Current Event – 6 Journal
	6	55-104 of Blind Willow	Discussion	Group 2 – definitions Current Event – 7 Journal
	9	105-162 of Blind Willow	Discussion	Group 3 – definitions Current Event – 8 Journal
	10		Last day for total withdrawal with 50% refund
	11	163-225 of Blind Willow	Discussion	Group 4 – definitions Current Event – 9 Journal
	13	249-end of Blind Willow	Discussion	Group 5 – definitions Current Event –10 Journal
	16	Sensei and I, Kokoro	Lecture	Group 1 – definitions Current Event – 11 Journal
	18	My Parents and I, Kokoro	Lecture and Discussion	Group 2 – definitions Current Event – 12 Journal
	20	Sensei and His Testament, Kokoro	Discussion	Group 3 – definitions Current Event – 1 Journal
	23	1-55 of The Waiting Years	Lecture Paper #1 Due	Group 4 – definitions Current Event – 2 Journal
	25	55-105 of The Waiting Years	Discussion	Group 5 – definitions Current Event – 3 Journal
	27	106-154 of The Waiting Years	Discussion	Group 1 – definitions Current Event – 4 Journal
Mar.	2	155- to end of The Waiting Years	Discussion	Group 2 – definitions Current Event – 5 Journal
	4	Chapters 1-6 of Hard-Boiled	Lecture	Group 3 – definitions Current Event – 6 Journal
	6	Chapters 7 - 13 of Hard-Boiled	Lecture	Group 4 – definitions Current Event – 7 Journal
	8	Chapters 14-21 of Hard-Boiled	Discussion	Group 5 – definitions Current Event – 8 Journal
	9		Spring Break
	11		Spring Break
	13		Spring Break
	16	Hard-Boiled to the end	Discussion	Group 1 – definitions Current Event – 9 Journal
	18	Chapters 1-5 of Norwegian Wood	Lecture Last day to withdraw from a full semester class with a grade or a W.	Group 2 – definitions Current Event – 10 Journal
	19		Last day to withdraw with 25% refund
	20	Chapter 6 of Norwegian Wood	Lecture and Discussion	Group 3 – definitions Current Event – 11 Journal
	23	Chapters 7-9 of Norwegian Wood	Discussion	Group 4 – definitions Current Event – 12 Journal
	25	Norwegian Wood to end	Discussion	Group 5 – definitions Current Event – 1 Journal
	27	Pages 1-67 of Wind-up Bird	Lecture	Group 1 – definitions Current Event – 2 Journal
	30	Pages 68-134 of Wind-up Bird	Lecture	Group 2 – definitions Current Event – 3 Journal
Apr.	1	Pages 135-205 of Wind-up Bird	Discussion	Group 3 – definitions Current Event – 4 Journal
	3	Pages 206-279 of Wind-up Bird	Discussion	Group 4 – definitions Current Event – 5 Journal
	6	Pages 279-338 of Wind-up Bird	Discussion	Group 5 – definitions Current Event – 6 Journal
	8	Pages 339-420 of Wind-up Bird	Discussion	Group 1 – definitions Current Event – 7 Journal
	10	Pages 422-484 of Wind-up Bird	Lecture	Group 2 – definitions Current Event – 8 Journal
	13	485-547 of Wind-up Bird	Discussion	Group 3 – definitions Current Event – 9 Journal
	15	Wind-up Bird to end	Discussion	Group 4 – definitions Current Event – 10 Journal
	17	Pages 1-60 of Kafka	Lecture	Group 5 – definitions Current Event – 11 Journal
	20	Pages 61-129 of Kafka	Lecture	Group 1 – definitions Current Event – 12 Journal
	22	Pages 129-205 of Kafka	Discussion	Group 2 – definitions Current Event – 1&2 Journal
	24	Pages 206-282 of Kafka	Discussion	Group 3 – definitions Current Event – 3&4 Journal
	27	Pages 283-365 of Kafka	Discussion	Group 4 – definitions Current Event – 5&6 Journal
	29	Pages 366 to end of Kafka	Discussion	Group 5 – definitions Current Event – 7 Journal
May	1	Chapters 1-8 of After Dark	Discussion	Group 1 – definitions Current Event – 8 Journal
	4	After Dark to the end	Discussion	Group 2 – definitions Current Event – 9 Journal
	6		Discussion/Workshop	Group 3 – definitions Current Event – 10 Journal
	8		Discussion/Workshop	Group 4 – definitions Current Event – 11 Journal
	13	Final Exam time: 1:00		Group 5 – definitions Current Event – 12 Paper #2 Due

Assigned Terms and Groups for Glossary Entries

Group 1: Alyssa Austin 1-9

Jennifer Hamilton 46-54

Katherine Karr 91-99

Roxanne Quinn 136-144

Robert Simon 181-189

Group 2: Michael Byers 10-18

Sarah Hancock 55-63

Stoney Molina100-108

Spencer Rockwell 145-153

Ericka Squier 190-198

Group 3: Tyler Campbell 19-23

Chantel Heister 64-72

Nicholas Moore 109-117

Natalie Roessler 154-162

Wendy Villalobos 208-216

Group 4: Jessica Czapla 28-36

Clarcie Howell 65-81

Steve Olson 118-126

Tegan Rosevear 163-171

Laurel Walker 208-216

Group 5: Amanda Distel 37-45

Maranda Jones 82-90

Jamie Pace 127-135

Benjamin Rueck 172-180

Shawn Wilson 217-225

Current Event Groups

Group 1: Shawn Wilson

Laurel Walker

Group 2: Wendy Villalobos

Ericka Squier

Group 3: Robert Simon

Benjamin Rueck

Group 4: Tegan Rosevear

Natalie Roessier

Group 5: Spencer Rockwell

Roxanne Quinn

Group 6: Jamie Pace

Steve Olson

Group 7: Nicholas Moore

Stoney Molina

Group 8: Katherine Karr

Maranda Jones

Group 9: Clarcie Howell

Chantel Heister

Group 10: Sarah Hancock

Jennifer Hamilton

Group 11: Amanda Distel

Jessica Czapla

Group 12: Tyler Campbell

Michael Byers

Alyssa Austin