JAPAN RELATED COURSE OFFERINGS SUMMER 2025
Classes begin June 23, 2025
JPN 344U: Manga: Japanese Graphic Novels – SUMMER
Asynchronous ONLINE this year – first 4 weeks of Summer
Instructor: Jon Holt
4 credits
Readings of masterpieces of Japanese comic books and analysis of writing about the graphic-novel form. Readings of the manga are followed by a discussion of the artistic style, questions about Japanese society, and each novel’s place in the history of the genre. Readings and discussions are in English. This class can fulfill UNST junior-cluster (U) requirements for Global Perspectives or Pop Culture. Can also be used for the Comics Studies Certificate. Takes place over the first four weeks of summer quarter.
ARH 313U: Survey of Japanese Art
Fully Online
Instructor: Kristen Brennan
4 credits
Explore the art and architecture of Japan from prehistoric times to the 21st century in a flexible, online format. We will learn about the archaeology, ceramics, sculpture, painting, textiles, and other utilitarian implements, such as Samurai armors, of Japan in context of chronology, source (indigenous or foreign influence), and site. We will consider the forces of each period’s culture, religion, politics, geography, and history, including Shintoism, mythology, Buddhism, Confucianism, are Taoism, as they have shaped the arts of Japan.
JAPAN RELATED COURSE OFFERINGS FALL 2025
Classes begin September 24, 2025
PSU is switching to a new time-slot system this quarter. Please be sure to verify the course times with your instructors.
HST 322U: Modern East Asia
Fully Online
Instructor: Ken Ruoff
4 credits
East Asia is one of the most dynamic areas of the world today, so how did it reach this point? This course focuses on the major economic, political, social, and cultural factors that have shaped the modern history of Japan, China, Korea, and Vietnam from the mid-1800s, beginning with the Opium Wars in China, the Meiji Restoration in Japan, and the colonization of Korea and Vietnam. It continues into the post-WWII era, to understand these four countries in the contemporary world. Meta-narratives addressed include imperialism, modernization, and revolution. A wide range of sources, including novels and films, will be employed to help students understand this history.This course counts toward the Global Perspectives Junior Cluster in University Studies, as well as the Japanese Major.
HST: 422/522: Showa - Wartime and Postwar Japan through Manga
W 11:00 - 12:40 PM (Hybrid)
Instructor: Ken Ruoff
4 credits
Shigeru Mizuki, one of the great manga artists of postwar Japan, has written a series of manga (illustrated accounts) chronicling the history of Japan from wartime to the end of the Showa era (1989). In this course, we examine the history of wartime and postwar Japan through the manga of Mizuki, supplemented by various additional sources ranging from films to additional readings that will take us up to present-day Japan. Mizuki experienced both wartime Japan (as a young soldier) and postwar Japan, and his illustrated accounts are a powerful and fun way to approach this history. In order to better understand the Japan of today, one must have a firm sense of not only the trans-1945 continuities, but also the discontinuities (in other words, what makes Postwar Japan different from what came before).
FILM 487: Survey of Japanese Cinema
W 6:00-9:35 PM
Instructor: Professor Patrick Terry
CRN: 11128
4 Credits
This course surveys major developments in Japanese film history examining patterns of production, exhibition, and reception. We look at how these developments have influenced aesthetic and film style over the last century. Through the course, you will analyze films in relation to broader movements such as the establishment of major studios, Pure Film, occupation cinema, Japan’s new wave, high-growth anxiety, blockbuster cinema, and media convergence in the 21st century. Through this course students will be able to critically assess how Japanese cinema as an institution responds to and intervenes in the social, cultural, and political history of Japan.
Screenings in Japanese w/English subtitles.
**Non Film Majors please inquire with instructor for admission to the course.**
JPN346U Manga Not!: A Prehistory of Japanese Comics
T/Th 9:00-10:40 am
Instructor: Professor Jon Holt
4 credits
When did manga get started in Japan? It’s a question that has been asked a lot in the past hundred years, with things heating up greatly in the 21st-century. Why does the origin of Japanese comics matter so much to the Japanese, if not also to comics historians all over the world? What is at stake if one answers the question with 1947, or the 18th century, or the 12th century? What can be manga? What cannot? Who gets to decide? JPN 346 students will learn about Japan’s past but also contemporary Japanese culture. Manga’s past tells us much about how Japanese now see themselves today. Satisfies junior cluster (Interpreting the Past, Pop Culture) requirements. No Japanese language ability or background in Japanese culture is required. NEW COURSE!
JPN 370: Japan East Asia Lecture Series
Times vary, but a set number of evening lectures (usually Tuesday or Thursday). No regular class meetings.
Instructor: Jon Holt
1 credit
Students attend on-campus lectures and off-campus events to expand their understanding of Japanese and Asian cultures. While the course has no regular weekly class meetings, students submit reports with a balance of written papers and virtual oral presentations. Most events are on PSU campus and therefore free. All enrolled students regularly report to the supervising instructor. No prerequisites. Students both lower- and upper-division may take 370. Can be repeated for max 4 times for max total 4 credits.
JPN 399: Reading Japanese Women Writers
Fully online (no class meetings/regular weekly work submitted online)
Instructor: Jon Holt
1 credit
In this “no-classroom" course, the professor will lecture and record into the zoomisphere for a 30-60 minute lecture each week about the canonical author/literary work of modern Japanese literature; students then read the book or short stories and then do an end-of-the-week quiz. On alternating weeks students "talk back" to Dr. Holt through your own recordings. Thus JPN 399 students will 1) gain familiarity with Modern Japanese Literature (only women writers this time) and 2) develop their ability to speak about Japanese Literature. This new kind of JPN 1-credit class allows for maximum schedule flexibility for students and helps them accelerate their PSU degrees. Great contemporary writers for this series: Enchi Fumiko, Tawada Yoko, Yoshimoto Banana, and Murata Sayaka, and more. NEW COURSE!
JPN 101 First Year Japanese
M/W/F 9:00-10:40 am (Friday session only 9:00 - 10:05 am) OR M/W/F 11:00 - 12:40 pm (Friday session only 11:00-12:05) OR T/TH/F 11:00 - 12:40 pm (Friday session only 11:00 - 12:05 pm) OR T/TH/F 1:30 - 3:10 pm (Friday session only 1:30 - 2:35 pm)
Instructor: Karen Curtin
5 credits
An introduction to the Japanese language with emphasis on listening comprehension, speaking, grammatical patterns, the syllabaries, and characters in elementary reading and writing. This is the first course in a sequence of three: Jpn 101, Jpn 102, and Jpn 103.
JPN 201 Second Year Japanese
M/W 9:00-10:40 am (Friday session only 9:00 - 10:05 am) OR M/W/F 11:00 - 12:40 pm (Friday session only 11:00-12:05 pm)
Instructor: Suwako Watanabe
5 credits
Continued work in the Japanese language with emphasis on listening comprehension, speaking, grammatical patterns, the syllabaries, and characters in elementary reading and writing. This is the first course in a sequence of three: Jpn 201, Jpn 202, and Jpn 203. Prerequisite: Jpn 103.
JPN 301 Third Year Japanese: Speak & Listen Term 1
T/Th 11:00 - 12:40 PM
Instructor: Suwako Watanabe
4 credits
Developing skills to work with semi-authentic materials with focus on reading and writing. This is the first course in a sequence of two: Jpn 301, and Jpn 302. Expected preparation: Jpn 203.
JPN 411/511 Advanced Japanese Reading and Writing I
Tu/Th 1:30 - 3:10 pm
Instructors: Jon Holt and Suwako Watanabe
4 credits
Reading the Japanese essays and newspaper articles in the target language. Skill building focus on reading and writing but continued skill work on discussion (speaking and listening). Prerequistes: JPN 302 or JPN 304.
The Department of World Languages and Literatures offers a vast array of Japanese language classes, from beginning to advanced Japanese. WLL's Japanese language department was ranked 9th nationally for graduating the most Japanese majors, according to a 2019 Chronicle of Higher Education Report. To see the robust offerings and opportunities to learn Japanese and about Japanese culture, please visit the World Languages and Literatures website.
Opportunities exist for non-traditional students to take a variety of courses about Japan, including Japanese language courses at PSU. Additionally, individuals over 65 years of age can audit courses at PSU for free on a space available basis.