Courses
The East Asia Institute offers four primary courses. However, students may replace up to two of the primary courses with electives listed below.
Primary Courses (Fall 2010)
JST 301 Japan, Asia, and the West
Stephen Franklin
An overview of Japanese culture and society in its international context. The course will take a primarily historical approach from the origins of the Japanese polity to the 21st Century, but it will do so with a particular emphasis on Japan’s long-term interaction with Korea and China and on its more recent interaction with Western countries as well. Building on this background, the course will finish by asking what makes modern Japan “tick,” or, in more academic language, we will read some sociological, psychological, and economic studies of contemporary Japan. This course provides the knowledge and skills needed to take full advantage of the other courses in Japanese and East Asian art, religion, practical culture, and language. It should prove highly valuable to students with an interest in Christian mission or business in Japan and Asia. Through this course, students may expect a basic introduction to China and Korea as well as Japan. Lastly the in-class portions of the course provides a context for the various field trips and guided experiences in Japan that are essential to your East Asian education. This course requires five to seven field trips and guided experiences. These will overlap the field trips and hands-on experiences assigned in the other courses in the basic package of courses for the East Asian Institute’s program for visiting students. In addition, students will be given information about going on their own to various museums, concerts, restaurants, and the like. JST 301 is geared for junior level students, but it may be taken with profit by students from the sophomore through the senior years. (3 credits)
FA 320 History of Japanese Arts and Aesthetics
Shohei Yamato, Yasumi Tsujinaka, and J. Randall Short
Around the world, many people are familiar with Japanese woodblock prints from the 17th through the 18th centuries (Ukiyo-e) and with Japanese animation (anime) and comics (manga) from modern times. In this course, we will examine these and other Japanese cultural influences as we survey the history of Japanese visual arts and aesthetics from a Christian perspective. In particular, we will study Japanese visual arts from a text and documentary series by the late Dr. Shuichi Kato, an outstanding intellectual who lectured in Japanese, English, French, and German about Japanese culture and thought. Kato’s documentary series on Japanese visual arts is notable for its comparative approach and incorporation of international perspectives. Following Kato, we will concentrate on the following seven themes: the Shape of Jomon; Shintoism and Buddhism: An Encounter; From this World to the Pure Land; Tea Ceremony; Images of Heaven and Earth; the Rinpa School Crosses the Ocean; and the Women of Ukiyo-E. Additionally, in the last three classes, we will learn about Japanese animation—and Ghibli animated films, in particular—under the guidance of Yasumi Tsujinaka, a specialist in Japanese animation and comics. Students will consider how they may better understand the religious mind of modern Japan’s youth through analysis of anime. (3 credits)
PHIL 370 Japanese Religion and Philosophy
Naoki Okamura
This course surveys important themes and developments in the history of Japanese religion. It will provide an overview of Japanese religious history, from the earliest historical documents to the present, and consider how various religious traditions have impacted the social, political, and cultural lives of the Japanese people. The class will also examine major characteristics of various religions traditions and how they have shaped the landscape of Japan as it is now. One unique characteristic of this course is that it will be conducted as a bilingual seminar. Both Japanese and international students will be present in the class with cross-translation as needed. (Ability in both Japanese and English is not a requirement.) Though the instructor will give introductory lectures to each religious tradition, many classes will be devoted to the discussion of common readings and of the presentations of student groups. Class preparations and active participation constitute a major part of the student’s grade for the semester. The purpose of this class is to aid students in achieving a necessary familiarity with the religious history of Japan, taking into account the repeating themes of religious pluralism, as well as the interrelation between major religious traditions and new religious developments, including that of cults. (3 credits)
JPN 101-103 Elementary Japanese Language and Culture
The elementary, intermediate, and advanced courses help students to build a strong foundation in the Japanese language, aiming for the ultimate goal of being a true bridge person between Japan and their home countries. In order to be such a bridge person, the students should be able to use the Japanese language as their tool, being fluent in reading and writing as well. All four skills—speaking, listening, writing, and reading—will be covered. (3 credits)
Students will be assigned to the course below that best suits their level:
JPN 101 Elementary Japanese Language and Culture I
Miwako Yanagisawa
JPN 201 Intermediate Japanese Language and Culture I
Miyako Kobayashi
JPN 301 Advanced Japanese Language and Culture I
Miwako Yanagisawa
JST 301 Japan, Asia, and the West
Stephen Franklin
An overview of Japanese culture and society in its international context. The course will take a primarily historical approach from the origins of the Japanese polity to the 21st Century, but it will do so with a particular emphasis on Japan’s long-term interaction with Korea and China and on its more recent interaction with Western countries as well. Building on this background, the course will finish by asking what makes modern Japan “tick,” or, in more academic language, we will read some sociological, psychological, and economic studies of contemporary Japan. This course provides the knowledge and skills needed to take full advantage of the other courses in Japanese and East Asian art, religion, practical culture, and language. It should prove highly valuable to students with an interest in Christian mission or business in Japan and Asia. Through this course, students may expect a basic introduction to China and Korea as well as Japan. Lastly the in-class portions of the course provides a context for the various field trips and guided experiences in Japan that are essential to your East Asian education. This course requires five to seven field trips and guided experiences. These will overlap the field trips and hands-on experiences assigned in the other courses in the basic package of courses for the East Asian Institute’s program for visiting students. In addition, students will be given information about going on their own to various museums, concerts, restaurants, and the like. JST 301 is geared for junior level students, but it may be taken with profit by students from the sophomore through the senior years. (3 credits)
FA 320 History of Japanese Arts and Aesthetics
Shohei Yamato, Yasumi Tsujinaka, and J. Randall Short
Around the world, many people are familiar with Japanese woodblock prints from the 17th through the 18th centuries (Ukiyo-e) and with Japanese animation (anime) and comics (manga) from modern times. In this course, we will examine these and other Japanese cultural influences as we survey the history of Japanese visual arts and aesthetics from a Christian perspective. In particular, we will study Japanese visual arts from a text and documentary series by the late Dr. Shuichi Kato, an outstanding intellectual who lectured in Japanese, English, French, and German about Japanese culture and thought. Kato’s documentary series on Japanese visual arts is notable for its comparative approach and incorporation of international perspectives. Following Kato, we will concentrate on the following seven themes: the Shape of Jomon; Shintoism and Buddhism: An Encounter; From this World to the Pure Land; Tea Ceremony; Images of Heaven and Earth; the Rinpa School Crosses the Ocean; and the Women of Ukiyo-E. Additionally, in the last three classes, we will learn about Japanese animation—and Ghibli animated films, in particular—under the guidance of Yasumi Tsujinaka, a specialist in Japanese animation and comics. Students will consider how they may better understand the religious mind of modern Japan’s youth through analysis of anime. (3 credits)
PHIL 370 Japanese Religion and Philosophy
Naoki Okamura
This course surveys important themes and developments in the history of Japanese religion. It will provide an overview of Japanese religious history, from the earliest historical documents to the present, and consider how various religious traditions have impacted the social, political, and cultural lives of the Japanese people. The class will also examine major characteristics of various religions traditions and how they have shaped the landscape of Japan as it is now. One unique characteristic of this course is that it will be conducted as a bilingual seminar. Both Japanese and international students will be present in the class with cross-translation as needed. (Ability in both Japanese and English is not a requirement.) Though the instructor will give introductory lectures to each religious tradition, many classes will be devoted to the discussion of common readings and of the presentations of student groups. Class preparations and active participation constitute a major part of the student’s grade for the semester. The purpose of this class is to aid students in achieving a necessary familiarity with the religious history of Japan, taking into account the repeating themes of religious pluralism, as well as the interrelation between major religious traditions and new religious developments, including that of cults. (3 credits)
JPN 101-103 Elementary Japanese Language and Culture
The elementary, intermediate, and advanced courses help students to build a strong foundation in the Japanese language, aiming for the ultimate goal of being a true bridge person between Japan and their home countries. In order to be such a bridge person, the students should be able to use the Japanese language as their tool, being fluent in reading and writing as well. All four skills—speaking, listening, writing, and reading—will be covered. (3 credits)
Students will be assigned to the course below that best suits their level:
JPN 101 Elementary Japanese Language and Culture I
Miwako Yanagisawa
JPN 201 Intermediate Japanese Language and Culture I
Miyako Kobayashi
JPN 301 Advanced Japanese Language and Culture I
Miwako Yanagisawa
Electives (Fall 2010)
BST 370 The Pauline Epistles
Takanori Kobayashi
This course aims at familiarizing the student with the Pauline corpus as understood in its original context. Along with the traditional literal and historical approaches, various methodologies such as rhetorical, socio-political, cross-cultural, etc., will be employed to clarify the message of the last, but not the least, of the apostles. (3 credits)
BST 401 Old Testament Exegesis
J. Randall Short
The objective of this course is to develop critical competencies in the arts of interpretation of, and theological reflection on, the Old Testament. Students will accomplish this by focusing primarily on the story of David’s rise to kingship in the books of First and Second Samuel. In the course readings, lectures, discussions, and presentations, we will give attention, in particular, to the following: problems related to the original Hebrew text, its transmission, and its translation; assumptions, aims, methods, and tools of various exegetical approaches; historical and literary contexts of interpretation; similarities and differences among various traditional and modern approaches; relationships among biblical texts (such as the relationship between the books of Samuel and Psalms); and possible relationships among biblical and non-biblical texts. Students will also learn the Hebrew consonants and vowels to facilitate them in their use of Hebrew dictionaries, Bible software, and other resources that require at least a basic knowledge of Hebrew. (3 credits)
HIS 101 History of Western Civilization
Stephen Franklin
A brief history of the main developments in Western Culture. By the end of this course, the student should be able to identity the main eras in Western cultural history and provide a brief description of the salient characteristics of each. The course will especially emphasize early cultural developments in Greece and Rome, with some attention to their context in Indo-European and world history. While discussing political developments and military developments as needed, the real thrust of the course will be towards architecture, the arts, science, and what may be called “worldview” issues, such as attitudes towards government, the religious use of and rejection of painting and sculpture, the relative role of the individual and the collective, and the like. The course will include those elements necessary to grasp the meaning and function of Christianity in Western society. Lastly, the course will raise the issue of a modern “global” or “universal” culture, and (if there is such a thing) its connection to Western culture. (3 credits)
HIS 421 History and Theology of the Reformation and Evangelicalism
Stephen Franklin
An exploration of the connections between the theology of the Reformers, especially Luther, Calvin, and the Anabaptists, and the emergence of modern Evangelicalism. We will trace the route from the Reformers to Protestant Orthodoxy and from there to Pietism and Puritanism. This course will note the split of the more conservative and the more liberal among the Pietists and Puritans. The course will then consider the Enlightenment at length, both as one result of, as well as one cause of, the divisions in Pietism and Puritanism. In this context, the course will move to Wesley’s Methodist/Arminian movement. Starting with Wesley, the lectures and discussion will move almost exclusively to Great Britain and America. Do the strong cultural changes in the 19th century Anglo-American world account for the rise of dispensationalism, American Holiness theology, and Pentecostalism? And if so, how? We will next note the institutionalization of late 19th and early 20th century Evangelicalism, primarily in America and throughout the world in the 20th century. The interplay between theological ideas and cultural movements in every era will be a major theme throughout the course. This course presupposes that the student has a basic knowledge of Reformation theology. (3 credits)
BST 370 The Pauline Epistles
Takanori Kobayashi
This course aims at familiarizing the student with the Pauline corpus as understood in its original context. Along with the traditional literal and historical approaches, various methodologies such as rhetorical, socio-political, cross-cultural, etc., will be employed to clarify the message of the last, but not the least, of the apostles. (3 credits)
BST 401 Old Testament Exegesis
J. Randall Short
The objective of this course is to develop critical competencies in the arts of interpretation of, and theological reflection on, the Old Testament. Students will accomplish this by focusing primarily on the story of David’s rise to kingship in the books of First and Second Samuel. In the course readings, lectures, discussions, and presentations, we will give attention, in particular, to the following: problems related to the original Hebrew text, its transmission, and its translation; assumptions, aims, methods, and tools of various exegetical approaches; historical and literary contexts of interpretation; similarities and differences among various traditional and modern approaches; relationships among biblical texts (such as the relationship between the books of Samuel and Psalms); and possible relationships among biblical and non-biblical texts. Students will also learn the Hebrew consonants and vowels to facilitate them in their use of Hebrew dictionaries, Bible software, and other resources that require at least a basic knowledge of Hebrew. (3 credits)
HIS 101 History of Western Civilization
Stephen Franklin
A brief history of the main developments in Western Culture. By the end of this course, the student should be able to identity the main eras in Western cultural history and provide a brief description of the salient characteristics of each. The course will especially emphasize early cultural developments in Greece and Rome, with some attention to their context in Indo-European and world history. While discussing political developments and military developments as needed, the real thrust of the course will be towards architecture, the arts, science, and what may be called “worldview” issues, such as attitudes towards government, the religious use of and rejection of painting and sculpture, the relative role of the individual and the collective, and the like. The course will include those elements necessary to grasp the meaning and function of Christianity in Western society. Lastly, the course will raise the issue of a modern “global” or “universal” culture, and (if there is such a thing) its connection to Western culture. (3 credits)
HIS 421 History and Theology of the Reformation and Evangelicalism
Stephen Franklin
An exploration of the connections between the theology of the Reformers, especially Luther, Calvin, and the Anabaptists, and the emergence of modern Evangelicalism. We will trace the route from the Reformers to Protestant Orthodoxy and from there to Pietism and Puritanism. This course will note the split of the more conservative and the more liberal among the Pietists and Puritans. The course will then consider the Enlightenment at length, both as one result of, as well as one cause of, the divisions in Pietism and Puritanism. In this context, the course will move to Wesley’s Methodist/Arminian movement. Starting with Wesley, the lectures and discussion will move almost exclusively to Great Britain and America. Do the strong cultural changes in the 19th century Anglo-American world account for the rise of dispensationalism, American Holiness theology, and Pentecostalism? And if so, how? We will next note the institutionalization of late 19th and early 20th century Evangelicalism, primarily in America and throughout the world in the 20th century. The interplay between theological ideas and cultural movements in every era will be a major theme throughout the course. This course presupposes that the student has a basic knowledge of Reformation theology. (3 credits)