Upper-division Writing Requirement Review Form (2/11)

I. General Education Review – Upper-division Writing RequirementDept/ProgramSubject

Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures

Course # (i.e. ANTH 455) or sequence

Japanese 311

Course(s) Title Classical Japanese Literature in English TranslationDescription of the requirement if it is not a single course.

II. Endorsement/Approvals Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office.

Please type / print name Signature DateInstructor Judith N Rabinovitch Sept 12, 2013Phone / Email x5101

rabinovitchj@mso.umt.eduProgram Chair Elizabeth Ametsbichler/Jannine

MontaubanDean Christopher ComerIII. Type of requestNew One-time Only Change RemoveReason for new course, change or deletion This is a renewal for previous listing of course as Gen Ed

writing course in 2009.IV Overview of the Course Purpose/ DescriptionThis UD writing course is an upper-division elective for the major in Japanese. It has been designed for students having little or no previous knowledge of the classical literature of Japan. The course sets out to investigate in its many forms and genres the aristocratic literature of the court as it developed from the 7th to the 14th century. Students will have the opportunity to read (in translation) and write about some of the most renowned works of the age. These define the values, tastes, and creative genius of the Japanese court. The literature of the imperial court was written mostly in the urban centers of Nara (Heijo) and Kyoto (Heian). Some genres and features of classical literature represent native tastes and innovations, while others show the influence of Chinese traditions (mainly Tang/Song or earlier). Students will become knowledgeable about (1) major classical literary genres and writers of the Japanese court; (2) aesthetics and sensibilities; (3) Japanese and Asian/Chinese religious and moral values which strongly color literary writing; (4) native and Chinese imagery and symbolism; (5) literary devices and conventions; and (6) Japanese classical civilization. Students will also learn to recognize their own potential for original thinking, as they develop more rigorous language expression, literary analysis, and powers of synthesis. Students will have many opportunities to gain skills in literary writing and analysis while also developing research skills: they will practice clear, accurate, and concise narrative styles and use writing to synthesize new concepts, opinions and ideas. ALL work (more than 35 pages of writing) will be evaluated and edited in detail by the professor. There will be two opportunities to revise written work (about 13 additional pages). Students will also learn the conventions of writing in the Japanese literature discipline and acquire the essentials of information literacy. This class has limited enrollment (20). Details below.

V Learning Outcomes: Explain how each of the following learning outcomes will be achieved.

V Explain how each of the following learning outcomes will be achieved. Student learning outcomes:Identify and pursue sophisticated questions for academic inquiry

Literary learning outcomes: *Classes focus on literary history, biography of major literary figures in the court, and the critical analysis of important texts and genres. Each text is related to human and social events, institutions of the day, and philosophical and religious traditions in Japan (and to a large extent, China). This enables students to develop a more comprehensive understanding of Japanese classical civilization through its literature, while developing a sound factual and critical foundation for writing and research as well. *Students completing the course will have gained a better appreciation of the literary qualities, themes, values, and aesthetics of Japanese court literature. They will also have acquired a basic understanding of its intellectual underpinnings in Buddhism and Confucianism in particular. *Students will develop abilities in speaking about Japanese literature in small group (and plenary) discussion sessions with the use of guided questions designed to help them come to grips with literary works at many different levels. These discussions will help students refined their critical literary consciousness and learn to discern and evaluate key issues. *Further, students will come to understand the social/functional and artistic positions occupied by various genres or Chinese and Japanese prose and poetry and gain an appreciation for the sometimes blurred boundaries between closely interconnected genres.

Writing/Research Learning Outcomes: *Students will develop their writing skills and powers of analysis and expression, using writing as a vehicle for thoughtful reflection and communication. (This course requires some 35 pages of writing, all edited by the professor, with extensive comments, and about 13 additional pages of rewriting.) *Students will improve their writing with respect to style, tone, diction, argumentation, punctuation and paragraphing, etc. *They will also become better readers and gain an understanding of different audiences and how to gauge their knowledge and needs as readers/discussants. This will improve their abilities as writers. *The literary and aesthetic terminology of the classical Japanese field will also be introduced and utilized throughout the course. *Students will become more proficient in acquiring, using, and documenting research materials (traditional, digital, and other forms of media), as detailed in the syllabus.

Students will have many opportunities to write about and discuss the works assigned. Students will be guided in each writing assignment to achieve certain writing/literary tasks, with opportunities to write 10 short reflections, three 3 page papers, and a longer term paper, with a full revision required. The paper will be prepared following the submission and approval of a research prospectus with sources. Each student will receive research supervision during his/her work on the term paper, leading to a successful outcome in most cases.

Identify and pursue sophisticated questions for academic inquiry: As detailed in the syllabus, this course will foster an exploratory approach through lectures and guided discussion activities, which begin with some of the basic textual, cultural, and literary questions raised by scholars in the discipline. The discussions progress to the point of refining and focusing issues in a manner that illuminates complexities and themes that are not necessarily apparent on the surface, developing critical thinking skills.

Find, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information effectively and ethically from diverse sources (see http://www.lib.umt.edu/informationliteracy/)

*Students are given clear instructions concerning where to go and how to find diverse (world-wide) sources of information and scholarship (in many different formats) in the growing Japanese classical field. *They are also advised extensively concerning how to identify and critically appraise the academic suitability and scholarly rigor of works and how to cite and integrate primary and secondary materials into their writing. * Concepts of ‘original’ sources vs ‘secondary’ are also explained. *Further, some of the common biases seen particularly in older research works will be identified. *Students are instructed in selecting topics that are suitable to their level of training (which presupposes the use of English sources only—a significant limitation).

Regarding “literacy,” see also two pages forward, under the rubric, “Develop competence in information technology and digital literacy.”

Manage multiple perspectives as appropriate This item could be explained in various ways, especially considering that this is a classical lit course which uses translated works of classics written by court writers who occupied diverse social niches and who explored different perspectives in their essentially bilingual (Chinese and Japanese) writings. In reading original lit in translation, students will also gain experience in critically analyzing the perspectives of court writers and their critics—how did courtiers they define their own tastes and values, express their outlook on the world, and validate/defend their own views? Also, how did Japanese see China--and the reverse? The courtly perspective on provincial life and the court as viewed from the provinces (provincial officials) will also be an area of attention throughout the course. Translation (with commentary and notes) by its very nature introduces certain biases, viewpoints and perspectives, whether implicit or explicit, as well as showing certain artistic (or language) characteristics and (usually) limitations. With regard to secondary literature, students will analyze multiple perspectives, learning also to observe different styles of narrative recounting.

Recognize the purposes and needs of discipline-specific audiences and adopt the academic voice necessary for the chosen discipline

Voice and audience are just one element to be addressed in a writing course of this kind. Efforts are made to familiarize students with the needs and orientation of the intended readership throughout the course. Writing differences related to general and specialized Japanese literary audiences are also discussed. Strategies for finding an appropriate voice are also imparted; academic voice (including formal, consultative, and many other styles) as opposed to casual will be clarified. Common roadblocks to developing an authentic voice of authority will be introduced.

Use multiple drafts, revision, and editing in conducting inquiry and preparing written work

Students will be rewriting one 3-page paper and their term paper. ALL writings in this course will be edited, with comments added, by the professor. Please see syllabus for details on no. of pages for writing assignments and revision, which considerably exceed the minimum required by ASCRC. Typically, drafts are corrected for word choice, clarity of ideas, style and tone, organization of ideas, and the correct integration/citation and documentation of sources used in research. The typed notes go into further detail on the argumentation and content of the analysis and the use of sources, as well as the paper’s documentation, etc.

Follow the conventions of citation, documentation, and formal presentation appropriate to that discipline

Students are taught how to make source citations correctly and document thoroughly, as already discussed. Students are also given detailed instruction concerning plagiarism in its many forms and how to avoid inadvertent plagiarism. Different documentation systems will be explained and the practices/preferences of the Jpns studies discipline identified clearly. The formal academic style of the discipline will also be explained.

Develop competence in information technology and digital literacy (link)

First, regarding literacy in general, reading closely (and learning to skim efficiently) is surely the starting point for literacy. Students will get ample practice in both. Writing clearly and coherently is the second major pillar of literacy. Third, communicating effectively concerning the subject matter and one’s own viewpoint on it is another essential skill. Fourth, as a higher level literacy skill, it is necessary for students to practice gathering, evaluating and synthesizing information, as well as presenting it clearly and cogently to others (whether in formal or informally ways).

Regarding digital literacy in specific, I assist students to find appropriate online materials and published materials (in English or other languages) using data bases, library websites, and other rich sources of information on the WWW. Students learn to evaluate those digital sources, integrate data, and provide (always) proper attribution in the course of their research. The concept of information/digital literacy is discussed throughout the course. Students in recent years have much experience using a handheld device (or Wikipedia-like websites); however, they are not necessarily familiar with effective web researching. Thus, it is necessary to provide instruction in this area. Students are steered away from sources known to be unreliable in the field and taught how to discriminate between specialized/amateur writings.

VI. Writing Course RequirementsEnrollment is capped at 25 students. If not, list maximum course enrollment. Explain how outcomes will be adequately met for this number of students. Justify the request for variance.

Yes, course is capped at 25. Actual enrollment is usually 13-18.

Briefly explain how students are provided with tools and strategies for effective writing and editing in the major.

*Effective writing tools and composition guidance is provided through (1) detailed teacher feedback and correction of ALL written submissions; (2) through practice of both informal and formal literary writing; (3) through provision of detailed handouts and through discussion of the materials/websites

that can provide guidance to students in their writing. *Students are also introduced to the Writing Center at UM and also encouraged to use self-directed peer review prior to submitting writing in its final form. *As with most writing classes, class time is devoted to explaining HOW one goes about planning, drafting, executing and revising a paper. (Some have never written a longer college paper before). This is a complex mater not conveyed in one or two sessions but rather developed in smaller units of focused discussion around “problems and strategies” throughout the course. Many handouts are provided to amplify and consolidate learning, these targeting specific writing problems and tasks, including proofreading, punctuation, citation problems, starting and ending a paper, and many writing fundamentals.

Which written assignment(s) includes revision in response to instructor’s feedback?

One 3 page paper and the final term paper, 7-10 pages, must be revised. Students must attach the first draft to their revisions and are responsible for making all. corrections/elaborations requested. (Students who do not write a satisfactory prospectus for the final paper are required to rethink/rewrite it with advice from the professor until a good outcome is achieved.)

VII. Writing Assignments: Please describe course assignments. Students should be required to individually compose at least 20 pages of writing for assessment. At least 50% of the course grade should be based on students’ performance on writing assignments. Quality of content and writing are integral parts of the grade on any writing assignment.Formal Graded Assignments Roughly 35 pages . Three papers (9 pp), term paper (7-10

pages), all graded and extensively edited. Also, there are some 10 pages of informal graded literary writing (e-journal), also edited and evaluated. In addition, about 13 pages will be rewritten. These requirements are explained in detail in the syllabus. The latter is reviewed during the first class meeting and placed on Moodle. Detailed study questions (to guide student reading and contemplation) and related writing tasks are presented throughout the term. NOTE: Written assignments in this course comprise 60% of the course assessment.

Informal Ungraded Assignments Students are given impromptu writing tasks at times during class to assist class discussion. These writings may be taken into a group setting and used as a springboard for discussion. Small-group reporting and class discussion then follows.

VIII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form. For assistance on syllabus preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html

The syllabus must include the following:1. Writing outcomes 2. Information literacy expectations 3. Detailed requirements for all writing assignments or append writing assignment instructions. Paste syllabus here: please see next page.

Syllabus and Schedule for UG Japanese 311: Classical Japanese Literature in English Translation, 3 credits

Professor Judith Rabinovitch (LA 320, 243-5101 [phone/voice mail]; office hours to be announced)

rabinovitchj@mso.umt.edu

Autumn Semester 2014

COURSE OVERVIEW

Overview of Course: This course sets out to investigate in its many forms and genres aristocratic Japanese literature of the imperial courts from the 7th to the 14th century. Students will have the opportunity to read in translation and write about some of the finest literary pieces of the age, which define the passions, values, and creative genius of the classical imperial court. The literature of this period was predominately written in the urban centers of Nara (Heijo) and Kyoto (Heian). With well-chosen words rich in lyricism and evocative beauty, writers briefly stopped the relentless flow of time to examine significant moments in their lives; each thought, reminiscence, and observation has an enduring value and interest as a part of the written record of early Japanese life and art. These works of literature inspire us to think about our own world and experiences; through them, we have the potential to better understand our own lives and to develop a lifetime fascination for humanity in all of its variety.

Literature and Writing: In this course, students will have many opportunities to gain skills in literary writing, argumentation, and analysis while also developing foundational research skills. They will become knowledgeable about (1) Japanese and Asian/Chinese religious and moral values which strongly color literary writing; (2) native and Chinese imagery and symbolism; (3) major literary genres and writers of the court; (4) Japanese aesthetics and sensibilities; and (5) literary devices and conventions. Above all, students will learn to recognize their own potential for original thinking as they develop more rigorous language expression, literary analysis, and powers of synthesis.

General Expectations for Students All students who enroll are asked to make a strong commitment to completing each reading and writing assignment in timely fashion. Please print out and bring to each and every class all assigned materials and texts. Also, you are expected to keep detailed notes on each lecture and on each reading; the ability to keep good notes--and the habit of reviewing them often--will help you to succeed in the course and remember what you have learned. Also, please note that the ability to speak or read Japanese is not a requirement of the course, as all assigned materials and writing will be based on the use of English.

Course prerequisites: All students must have completed a basic composition course (WRIT 101, usually) and one other approved writing course on the Gen Ed writing course list prior to enrolling in this class, as explained in the UM catalog’s Gen Ed Group One requirements. Passing the WPA writing exam is also a prerequisite. In order to be credited with this and other Gen Ed courses, students need to earn at least a C-. Students taking this course for the Japanese major must bear in mind that all UD coursework for the major must be at the 2.5 GPA level or higher.

The format of the course will be lectures and discussions with occasional group presentations and/or brief presentations by assigned student speakers on special topics. A roughly chronological approach will be taken; historical developments and the larger cultural milieu, which constitute a backdrop against which these works were written, will be discussed throughout the term. One of the characteristics of Japanese literary genres is their often indistinct and overlapping boundaries. Court ladies’ literary diaries, for example, are semi-fictionalized with novelistic aspects and a large admixture of waka verse. Thus, the readings assigned and the foci of lectures and discussions will move between genres, examining their inter-connectedness and cross-currents as much as possible. Similarly, we will consider native diaries, semi-historical narratives and mythologies, and poetry (waka) in close proximity to their Chinese-language counterparts.

The Nature of Japanese Literature Japanese literature from 600 to 1900 was a bilingual tradition. Some genres and features of classical literature represent native tastes and innovations, while others show the influence of Chinese traditions (mainly Tang/Song or earlier). Chinese, including domesticated variant Chinese, and the Japanese language were utilized for both utilitarian and literary writing throughout much of Japanese history. Korean and Sanskrit were also studied and mastered by some scholars. Students will be introduced to canonical texts and poetry written in Chinese in Japan, although because of time constraints, there will be a greater emphasis upon the vernacular literature. Two primary topoi of court writers were the four seasons and the pursuit of love. These subjects were often examined in the context of Buddhist teachings about the transience of life, the desirability of freeing oneself from attachments and ambitions, and the inevitability of change, concepts which will be given special attention. Over the semester, with 28 class meetings scheduled, we will read and discuss works of prose and poetry spanning the 7 th to the 14th centuries. These will be read as extracts or, in some cases, in their entirety. Their themes, religious underpinnings, and lyrical aspects will be investigated, as will be the writers’ motivations and purposes and the nature of the relationships described therein, the larger objective being to better understand the human circumstances and social milieu in which each were written.

Genres of Prose and Poetry to be Explored

In the prose realm, we will investigate early examples of ~

(1) Chinese-influenced historical writing (pieces recorded in an experimental variant Chinese), as preserved in the first extant collection of mythology and historical narration, the Kojiki (8th c); (2) the fictionalized vernacular diary, interspersed with waka (Japanese) poetry in various forms (a genre associated with aristocratic ladies-in-waiting); (3) the courtier chronicle (also interspersed with poems in Japanese) but recorded largely in variant Chinese and of a more utilitarian nature; (4) the novel, which was brought to its apex by ladies-in-waiting;(5) essay writing in Japanese, most often associated with Taoist and Buddhist artist recluses; (6) folk tales about strange events and miraculous religious occurrences recorded by anonymous writers to inspire, entertain, and caution the aristocratic readership.

Poetry: we will begin with the earliest vernacular songs and poetry recorded in experimental scripts, these reflecting the oral tradition to a greater or lesser extent, and proceed to investigate several genres of Japanese classical poetry (most notably the pervasive five line thirty-one syllable tanka and the longer ‘choka’ form). A week will also be devoted to Chinese verse genres (kanshi), which were composed in the court from earliest times, even prior to the development of a native script for recording Japanese poetry. Kanshi, with their numerous sub-genres, reflect some novel themes that gained popularity under the influence of Chinese literary writing (such as illness, career failure, morality, and social problems) and naturally utilize a different set of rhetorical, prosodic, and stylistic devices, all of which show the strong influence of Chinese Tang models and conventions.

Recurrent, unifying themes and aesthetic or philosophical tendencies will emerge in our discussions, including:

The cultural contexts (both Chinese and Japanese) of works under study. The strong and enduring influence of China and its traditions and precedents in shaping the course of Japanese cultural development (the reverse will also be considered). Chinese literature and language and its formative influences upon Japanese literature, genres, Japanese language, vocabulary and syntax. Ways in which Chinese and Japanese sources and earlier events in history shaped latter works (such as Kojiki, “Record of Ancient Matters” or Okagami, “The Great Mirror”).

Setting; the sensuous physical world of the works under study, their geographical, natural, and social milieu.

Recurring topoi and thematic motifs, organizational and narrative strategies, and the diverse narrative and lyrical functions of poetry in novels and diaries.

Character portrayal and the underlying tensions and dynamics of male-female relationships in the court under the influence of the practice of polygyny. Courtly ideals for men and women (both physical and spiritual) and the depiction of heroes in both fictional and historical works.

Social/gender stratification, unequal educational opportunities, and their impact upon literary development. The role of women in the advancement of literature in the vernacular and the creation of the novel. Women of the court and the spread of hiragana (phonetic) script forms.

Consideration also of the “male language of Chinese,” and misconceptions about the nature of ‘domesticated’ Chinese writing; the significance of Chinese poetry in the history of Japan.

Unifying philosophical concepts in prose and poetry stemming from (Chinese) Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto, and indigenous folk beliefs, all of which cut across literary genres and deeply color literary writing.

Also, Japanese social mores (male/female), family practices and conventions and the role of the arts in court life, as revealed in literature.

Enduring indigenous aesthetic values as they play out in majors works of poetry and prose. Sabi, wabi, yuugen, yooen; Sic transit gloria mundi as a courtly obsession. Diverse, complex links between physical and spiritual worlds, which extend through all genres.

The use (and sources) of sensory, natural, and symbolic imagery; how imagery differs in Chinese and Japanese forms of verse. Literary conventions in Japanese tanka and kanshi (Japanese poetry written in Chinese forms), including elements of versification.

Literary audiences and how education and literacy rates affected readership in Chinese and Japanese. Courtly expectations regarding writing and readership among men and women, respectively. Who wrote and read which genres, and why? Also, texts and their transmission: the cost of paper, nature disasters, and other factors adversely impacting the reproduction and preservation of important works.

WRITING IN JAPANESE 311

Japanese 311 as an Upper-Division Writing Course A General Education Group I “English Writing Skills” offering, this course also fulfills the one-course upper-division writing requirement for the Japanese major. It is of course open to all students in the university. Please note that the literary/critical writing component is considerable and will occupy 60% of your graded work, including the midterm and final exam essay questions. Your instructor will edit and provide written feedback for ALL of your assignments with regard to the construction of the paper’s thesis and argumentation; citations and the provision of facts and evidence; grammatical and stylistic accuracy, punctuation and spelling; and overall quality and clarity of the prose. By paying close attention to corrections and comments, students will be able to hone their thinking and writing skills. They will develop a congenial voice of authority, one grounded in close reading, thought, and textual evidence. Students will be encouraged to consider their audience carefully and put themselves in the reader’s position. Tone, the web of emotions conveyed through writing, is also important: one’s attitude towards not only the subject but also the audience and even oneself can be modulated through one’s diction, syntax, point of view and the level of formality adopted. We will mainly be learning to write in a tone suitable to formal academic writing. However, there will be opportunities to practice informal communicative styles, too.

Literacy Expectations Reading closely and learning to skim efficiently is the starting point for literacy. Students will get ample practice in both. Writing clearly and coherently is the second major pillar of literacy. Third, communicating effectively concerning the subject matter and one’s own viewpoint is another essential skill. Fourth, it is essential to learn to evaluate and synthesize source materials, presenting these both orally and in writing. Citing primary and secondary sources correctly (and assessing their suitability) are skills that are also important to scholarship and the development of literacy. In the process of reading, writing, and discussing, students learn to value multiple perspectives and points of view: this is also a part of ‘literacy.’ Additionally, through writing and obtaining detailed feedback, students are able to develop higher-order thinking skills and the ability to analyze literary texts. A final component in literacy (and digital literacy) involves conducting research. In this course, students will learn to collect, organize, and evaluate both primary and secondary materials (traditional works as well as digital materials and other media) in order to write a term paper. Please see below for details.

Writing assignments will take the following forms and amount to about 35 pages, not including the rewrites, an additional 13 pages (approximately).

(1) Ten informal, one-page original reactions/responses (typed) on the subject of the week’s reading assignment(s), which will be edited and graded by the professor and returned with feedback at the next class meeting. Please keep your writings in an electronic file, bring them to class each time, and do retain a backup paper copy.

(2) Three three-page response papers (one will require a rewrite) on assigned topics. Study questions as well as writing tasks will be provided for each text assigned. Assignments will be designed to assist you in developing the ability to identify and synthesize themes, concepts, and conventions--literary, language-related, aesthetic, and religious—and arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the assigned texts. As with all essays to be written in this course, these submissions will not be plot summaries or paraphrases; nor are they intended to supply “background information” about the materials. Instead, your task will be to look more deeply at specific aspects of the texts, including theme, philosophical/aesthetic aspects, diction and imagery, character depictions, the writer’s purposes, etc.

(3) One term paper, 7-10 pages, with a full MLA-style bibliography, correct footnoting, and one full rewrite, based on the corrected first draft which will offer detailed feedback. This essay must contain original observations and analysis and also demonstrate good writing and the correct use of sources/footnoting. A meeting will be called with each student who has submitted a proposal to determine what would be a manageable undertaking given the limited resources available in English. The paper must be written in a tone and style suitable to academic literary writing in the Japanese field, as will explained during the course. Through lectures and handouts, as well as individual assistance, students will gain experience in (1) the correct use of literary terminology in the Japanese field; (2) the citation of scholarly and literary sources most used in Japanese studies; and (3) the location, analysis, and synthesis of information acquired from diverse academic sources for the research paper. Students will also gain experience in evaluating the relative merit of research. Plagiarism in any form will be not be excused and will be dealt with swiftly in

accordance with the UM Student Conduct Code. Students will be given detailed information about what constitutes plagiarism, how to avoid it, and how to cite and document sources.

A prospectus (plan) for the paper (2 pages) due in week 7. It should contain at least 5 (non-web) sources. You will receive your draft back, edited, with typed comments and recommendations. Readings, texts, and modern studies or commentaries will also be suggested. The first draft is due in week 11, the final paper in week 13. Please arrange to speak to me prior to setting your plan so that I can make suggestions and assist you.

(4) Essay Questions on Midterm and Final Exam (totaling approx. 6 pages). Part of each of two examinations will be composed of short essay (or concise paragraph) writing: midterm essays will be written during the examination. For the final exam, the essay topics will be provided in advance and will constitute a take-home assignment to be graded as part of the final exam. The final essay will be a 3 page take-home piece on the 11 th c. novel Tale of Genji, with a choice of questions. The essay component of both examinations will together constitute 10% of the assessment for the course.

COURSE MECHANICS

Method of Assessment for the Course:

Grade ranges in this course are: A (90-100); B (80-89); C (70-79); D (60-69); F (below 60); plus and minus grades will be assigned in the range of the upper and lower two points of each grade division. An 80, 81, or 82 will be a B-, an 88 or 89 a B+, for example. Please note the following Course Assessment categories:

Term Paper, 7-10 pages (as described above), 20% Response papers (formal): a total of 3 submissions, 3 typed pages each, with one rewrite required; roughly six

writing opportunities will be provided. 15% (5 pts each) One-page informal essays (a total of 10) providing informal reactions, personal insights or observations, 15% Contributions to class/group discussions, preparedness for class (as demonstrated by familiarity with the

reading assignments) and attendance: 10% (please see below for information on the course attendance policy) Midterm, week 7 (estimate); objective questions, short answers, and short essays (the latter worth one third of

the exam); 15% Final exam: 2 hours in class, 25%; final exam will include one take-home essay composition (typed, 3 pages),

due at the time of the final. The points for the essay will be assessed as a fifth of the exam’s value (5% of the total course assessment).

Texts Required:

Moodle materials for downloading (scholarly papers and articles), available at the course site. Please download and print out all materials prior to each class and do bring this material to class every time. A separate list of Japanese literature books in English, all available at the library, will also be provided for optional reading. For your reference, a number of books will be placed on hard copy reserve for the course at the Mansfield Library.

Helen McCullough, tr., Classical Japanese Prose: An Anthology, Stanford UP. Earl Miner, Introduction to Japanese Court Poetry, Stanford UP. Royall Tyler, tr., The Tale of Genji, Penguin (abridged text, about a fifth of the whole). Ivan Morris, The World of the Shining Prince, Penguin Books. Judith Rabinovitch and Timothy Bradstock, tr., Dance of the Butterflies: Chinese Poetry from the Japanese Court Tradition (Cornell UP).

Policies: The Fine Print

(1) Attendance will be taken at each meeting. Please plan not to miss class except in dire circumstances; missing even one lecture might mean that you miss an entire literary work or period, owing to the long time span covered in this course. After two “free” absences for whatever reason, the third and fourth absence will each result in a lowering of a student's final participation mark by two percentage points (out of 10%). Please save your ‘free absences’ for times of genuine illness or unforeseen emergencies; save for a rainy day. With the fifth absence, a student will automatically fail the course. Please keep track of your own attendance and/or look on the Moodle course site, where your attendance record will be available for viewing. Students missing a class are asked to take the initiative to seek the

handouts/instructions for writing given on that day in class by visiting the Moodle page. If you miss a class, please ask to borrow a fellow student’s notes for that day.

(2) Tardiness. Please arrive on time to class—many announcements are given in the first two minutes of class. Each tardy arrival will result in a half percentage point deduction from your participation score (10 percentage points). Late submissions. Late submissions will not be accepted unless students have made special arrangements for truly exceptional and documented reasons (including bona fide emergencies) prior to the anticipated absence or, at the very latest, on the date of the absence. Problems with home or car, roommate needs, job work schedule, parking shortages, or similar are not considered grounds for requesting a special exception be made.

(3) If you are a student with a disability and wish to discuss reasonable accommodations for this course, please contact me privately at the earliest opportunity to discuss the specific accommodation you wish to request. I will ask that you provide a letter from Disability Services for Students (located in Lommasson 154) verifying your situation. For more information, or to get assistance with a disability, please contact DSS on campus or visit the DSS website at www.umt.edu/dss.

(4) All students must practice academic honesty. Academic misconduct, including plagiarism of any form, is subject to an academic penalty imposed by the course instructor and/or a disciplinary sanction by the University. Students need to be familiar with the Student Conduct Code. The Code is available for review online at the following university site: http://www.umt.edu/SA/VPSA/index.cfm/page/1321.

(5) Please refrain from taking or making calls, listening to music, watching videos, or downloading assigned course materials in class; no use of computer or other device, emailing, texting, or web browsing during class is permitted. Do not record or videotape lectures and discussions. If you have special needs or questions, please see me at the earliest opportunity.

Japanese 311 Class Schedule and Reading Assignments (Subject to Revision)

WEEK 1, TUES (#1): Introduction to the course and a brief historical overview. Which demographic group wrote literature? The evolution and social/artistic characteristics of the aristocracy, the creators of literature, and their institutions, including the monarchy. The invention of writing based on Chinese and the dawn of writing in Japan using a native script; the powerful and enduring influence of Chinese traditions in the development of culture and institutions throughout Japanese history. Women and literature in Japanese history; themes and the inward-outlook nature of aristocratic writing. Read today after class:(1) McCullough, Classical Japanese Prose: An Anthology (textbook for purchase at the Bookstore), hereafter referred

to as “McCullough,” pp. 1-26.(2) For Thursday, please read Reischauer, pp. 41-51: a brief historical background, which can be found in the folder

titled “Varley and Reischauer Background Readings,” on the Moodle site for today. (3) OPTIONAL, over the next two weeks: you may begin reading Paul Varley, Japanese Culture (in the same folder,

in two pdf files), pp. 19-76. This is strongly recommended if you have not previously taken Japanese 150 at UM and are not currently enrolled in Prof Tuck’s Jpns 150 course, which is now getting underway.

(4) Please enter the Moodle site (supplement) associated with this course at the website address http://umonline.umt.edu/ and send me an email with information about yourself (a brief bio) using the quickmail feature within Moodle. You should be able to do this if you are enrolled at UM and have access to your “NET ID.”

THURS (#2): Introduction to classical literature: its primary polarities and aesthetic preferences; a closer look at writers and poets: nobles, scholar-officials, ladies-in-waiting, and priests, their private and social lives and education.

Read before class today: (1) Please complete Reischauer’s outline of early history (background reading), pp. 41-51. (2) Ivan Morris, The World of the Shining Prince, chapters 1-2.

WEEK 2, TUES (#3): Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters, 712) and the Shinto religion: the earliest extant record of Japanese history, mythology, Shinto deities and beliefs, and poetry. Chinese and Japanese historical narratives; the importance of clarifying imperial succession and the hierarchy of aristocratic clans. Rising national consciousness and attempts to separate from China. Japanese poetic genres, conventions, and features in ancient verse; Kojiki’s experimental Japanese writing system and why it failed. Communal life, faith, and poetry in ancient society.

Read before class today: (1) Morris, The World of the Shining Prince, chapter 4, “Religions” (NOTE: Chapter 3 will be read, in part, later in the course.)(2) Moodle: Kojiki I, a passage from the text concerning the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, and her brother the Storm God, Izanagi. Hereafter, please look on the Moodle course page for all assigned materials posted, these separate from “textbooks” required for purchase.(3) Look for other short, posted documents, and one video link, on the basics of the Shinto faith. Not all will be required reading.

THURS (#4): Kojiki, continued. Intro to song (uta) sequences in Japan’s first literary text, Kojiki (an early 8 th century compilation of historical narrative, Shinto mythology and song); comparisons between historical and literary writings on China/Japan and images of ancient life. Early conceptions of courtship and love, and the formation of romantic heroes and heroines. Reflection #1 topics will be distributed. Due next Tuesday in class. (Students will have six opportunities during the semester to write three reflections, two of which will have rewrites.)

Read before class today: “Kojiki II, III, IV” readings on Moodle, featuring various famous courtship episodes as well as a summary thereof.

WEEK 3, TUES (#5): Birth of native song and poetry (both loosely referred to in Japanese as ‘uta’): the major forms, popular themes, tonal qualities, and literary devices seen in waka [native vernacular poems most commonly in 31 syllable form] extracted from Man'yōshū (A Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves, Japan’s earliest extant verse anthology, compiled ca. 759-80). Setting (time and place), geographical, and the island environment; ways in which ancient poetry reflects rural life; the Buddhist and pre-Buddhist world view, and Japanese beliefs about life and death. Introduction to poetic imagery and associated conventions and understandings.

Read before class today:(1) Miner, a class text, Introduction to Japanese Court Poetry (hereafter, “Miner”), pp. 1-35. (2) “The Forms of Japanese Poetry” and “An Approach to Reading Japanese Poetry” (Moodle). Reference materials.

THURS (#6): Complete lecture on Man'yōshū; the use of ocean imagery in the MYS and the language of love. Comments on ancient courtship and social restraints. Demographic considerations in MYS verse: local and provincial poets and the unusual social and thematic range. Early conceptions of romance and rare portraits of provincial life beyond the palace. Reflection #1 due today; Reflection #2 topics to be distributed; due next Tuesday

Read before class today: (1) “Man'yōshū Poem Selections with Water Imagery” (poems to be discussed today will have been divided among several students who will be asked to lead discussion on each). (2) “Some MYS Love Poems by Commoners.” Additional poem examples with commentaries. (3) Miner, pp. 36-54. (4) Moodle: skim “Plants in Early Japanese Poetry.”

WEEK 4, TUES (#7): Reading the Kokinshū (Collection of Poems Old and New, comp. 905), the first imperial anthology of waka (ca. 905); introduction to poetic rhetoric and the aesthetics of romantic love in the Heian age. The use of sensory, natural, and religious images and symbols; conventional diction, topoi, and the boundaries of courtly expression in the first imperial anthology, a template for all later imperial anthologies compiled at court. Reflection #2 due today. Reflection #3 on Kokinshū will be assigned today, due next Thursday.

Read before class today:(1) Miner, pp. 55-78 (main text reading for today).(2) The World of the Shining Prince, chapter 5, “Superstititions.”(3) I strongly recommend that you begin Tale of Genji, given its longer than typical length, reading it little by little throughout the term. Various aids to assist your reading will be posted on the Moodle page.

THURS (#8): Love and Nature as Japanese Poetic Topoi; the influence of Buddhism upon the Japanese value system and view of life. The links between the physical and spiritual world; religious aspiration and reclusion as an emerging theme. Conventions in Japanese depictions of the natural world.

Read before class today:(1) Miner, pp. 79-100 (chapter 5).

WEEK 5, TUES (#9): Class discussion of selected love poems from Kokinshū; the artistry and techniques of poetic linkage in KKS (which prefigure medieval linked verse practices). Introduction to male-female relations at court, the pursuit of courtship and the “cycle of love” in polygynous society. A look also at poetic rhetoric, the use of allusion variation and an awareness of precedent (Chinese and Japanese); integration/fragmentation and the artistry and rationale of “linked” verse collections.

Read before class today: (1) Moodle document: “Japanese Love Poetry by Thematic Categories” (please pay special attention to preparing the poems assigned your group for class discussion). Poem examples on Moodle for today.(2) Moodle: Capellanus on courtly love, the western tradition around the time of the Heian court. Contrasts and comparisons.

THURS (#10): A Close Reading of an arranged Kokinshū Poem Sequence. Key philosophical tenets and aesthetic preferences; the awareness of the passage of time and its effects on all living things, and the loss of beauty and power as pervasive courtly concerns. Reflection #3 on Kokinshū due today.

Read before class today:(1) Laurel Rodd, “Introduction to Kokinshū,” from her translation of the Kokinshū. These several assigned pages explain the principles according to which KKS love and nature poems were arranged by the 10th c. compilers.(2) Stephen Carter, ed., “A Sequence from Kokinshū.”

WEEK 6, TUES (#11): Introduction to Kanshi, Chinese poetry by Japanese courtiers, scholar-officials, and priests. The origins, development, genres of kanshi versification at court, its impact upon native poetry, and its common themes and conventions, in comparison/contrast to waka genres.

Read before class today:(1) Rabinovitch and Bradstock, Dance of the Butterflies. Please read the Introduction, then continue through the volume. As you read, take notes and prepare to identify/analyze several poems that particularly interest you from each of the anthologies represented therein. Please be sure to read the short introductions to each anthology from which translations are presented.

THURS (#12): Discussion of Selected Kanshi Poems in Dance of the Butterflies, with attention to individual poets (most of whom also wrote Japanese verse) and the social role and artistry of kanshi. Defining the genre: is ‘kanshi’ a Japanese poetry genre? Chinese textual and philosophical influences in kanshi; also, manifestations of Japanese art and taste, institutions and practices, and local color (physical culture, flora and fauna) and the routines of court life in kanshi. Reflection #4 to be assigned today on the subject of kanshi poetry in Chinese; due next Tuesday.

Read before class today: (1) Continue reading Dance of the Butterflies.(2) “Heian Love, Domestic and Imported” (Robert Borgen).

WEEK 7, TUES (#13): Introduction to the early monogatari (fiction/tales) prose tradition: (Taketori monogatari “The Bamboo Picker's Tale”) in the spectrum of Heian monogatari. A fairy tale for children? Allegory? A celebration or renunciation of romantic love? Also, we will be identifying realistic, religious, and fantastic elements in Taketori and

other early fiction works of the court, with comparisons to Asian myths and beliefs prevalent in folklore. Tracing early texts: their transmission, loss, recovery, and revision; the fragmentary record of Nara/Heian literary works and factors impacting the preservation and popularization of texts. Reflection #4 on the subject of kanshi poetry in Chinese is due today.

Read before class today:(1) McCullough, Taketori, pp. 27-37(2) Because McCullough’s translation is not complete please also read the missing portions in Keene, “The Tale of

the Bamboo Cutter,” Moodle; you may, if you’d like, skip McCullough’s partial translation and read only the Keene translation, which is complete.

THURS (#14): Tales of Ise: the first “poem-tale”; its artistic purpose and socio-political significance as a guide to poetic (and human) decorum according to the ideal of miyabi, courtly elegance. Also, the themes of male friendship and reclusion among gentlemen. Japanese prose genres and the distensible boundaries between tales, novels, diaries, and poems. The place of poetry in monogatari. The use of poetry in the pursuit of romance, relationships, and artistic influence. TERM PAPER PROSPECTUS DUE

Read before class today:(1) McCullough, Tales of Ise, pp. 38-69.(2) Optional: Schalow, “Five Portraits of Male Friendship in Ise.”

WEEK 8, TUES (#15): MIDTERM, 60 minutes. After the test, we will look at Chūyūki, a factual and historical courtier diary written in domesticated Chinese.

Read before class today:(1) “Excerpts from Rabinovitch draft translation of Chuyuki.” (2) For reference purposes before you read: read the short summary “Chuyuki” from Keene, Travelers of a Hundred Ages.(3) Optional: Rabinovitch, “Some Literary Aspects of Four Kanbun Diaries.”

THURS (#16): The confessional urge—an introduction to fictionalized court diaries in Japanese--the travel memoir Tosa Diary. Male and female diary writing, in Chinese and Japanese, respectively; their generic characteristics, functions and purposes. Male diaries as an under-utilized resource in modern Japanese historiography. Journal-writing in court life: journals written to be shared and those intended to kept private. How and why did certain diaries become part of the classical canon? Reflection #5 on the subject of Kagero Diary to be assigned today; due Thurs next week. Read before class today: (1) McCullough, pp. 70-102 (Tosa Diary). (2) For reference purposes: skim “The Tosa Diary,” from Donald Keene, Travelers of a Hundred Ages.

WEEK 9, TUES (#17): The Gossamer Diary (Kagerō Nikki); discussion. The vernacular diary and travel diary in Japanese court literature, its semi-fictional character, the use of poetry, and narrative characteristics. Realism in the diary and how it is achieved in poetic and prose sections; a psychological profile of the lady, her outlook and growth as a woman, wife, and mother. Comments on the emerging role of ladies-in-waiting in the popularization of the hiragana writing system and the corresponding advancement of literature recorded in the hiragana script: Japanese diaries and the birth of the novel. Reflection #5 due today.

Read before class today: (1) McCullough, “Pioneering Memoirists of the Tenth Century,” in Anthology, pp. 102-55.(2) World of the Shining Prince, chapter 7, “The ‘Good People’ and their Lives.”

THURS (#18): Heian Courtship and Marriage; discussion of Heian women and their relations with men and other women. The dynamics and conflict seen in male-female relationships in the court under the influence of the practice of polygyny; feminine and masculine ideals of the age, “exemplary” courtly behavior (both in and out of marriage) and changing concepts of marriage. Reflection #5, on Kagero Nikki due today.

Read before class today:(1) World of the Shining Prince, chapter 8, “The Women of Heian and their Relationships with Men.” Marriage, divorce, family law, and family structure in a society of plural marriage, as seen in Heian literary works. Unequal opportunity at court and its effects on literary activity.(2) William McCullough, “Japanese Marriage Institutions in the Heian Period.”(2) OPTIONAL “The Gossamer Diary” and “Sarashina Diary” (readings from Sarashina have not been assigned, but it is a well-known Heian diary), in Travelers of a Hundred Ages, trans. Donald Keene.

WEEK 10, TUES (#19): The court wit and arbiter of good taste, Lady Sei Shōnagon: the birth of the essay (“zuihitsu”). Narrative technique and the development of realism as seen in the portrayal of characters, the diarist’s setting and psychological bearings. Shonagon as a critic of court figures and their mores. Prevailing conceptions (among court women) of ideal male and female behavior and social customs, including the proper ways of courtship. Artistic institutions of Shonagon’s day and the role of Chinese learning (for women and men); the rule of taste and the importance of breeding and cultural refinement.

Read before class today: (1) McCullough, “A Court Lady's Musings,” pp. 156-99.(2) The World of the Shining Prince, skim chapter 3, on Emperors, the Fujiwara, and Society, pp. 41-71.

THURS (#20), Tales of Aristocratic and Provincial Life: humorous, sometimes provocative and disturbing stories loved at court: the “popular literature” of Heian times, the question of its authorship, circulation and readership. High culture and low; central and provincial writing and lifestyles in the mid- to late-Heian age.

Read before class today:(1) McCullough, “Short Tales of Aristocratic Life,” in Anthology, pp. 251-63; pp. 271-82.(2) Download, from Tales of Times Now Past (a Konjaku Monogatari translation), a few additional selections from Konjaku translated by Marian Ury.

WEEK 11, (TUES: ELECTION DAY) THURS (#21): The medieval poetic sensibility: Shin Kokinshū (New Anthology of Poems, Old and New), 1205. Definitions of sabi, yooen, yuugen and aesthetic/tonal ideals in late classical poetry; changes in imagery, diction and syntax in tanka. The reemergence of professional poets, poetic scholarship and transcription. The classics as one of the last reserves of aristocrats as the Kamakura Shogunate gets underway and centuries of feudalism begin. Linguistic and literary comparisons with early Heian poetry (KKS) and earlier verse (MYS). FIRST DRAFT OF FINAL PAPER DUE TODAY.

Read before class today:(1) Miner, pp. 101-22.(2) Moodle, “Medieval Poetry Examples to Illustrate Themes and Aesthetics.”

WEEK 12, TUES (#22): Reading a linked sequence from Shin Kokinshū: A further look at poetic linkage and the technique called Association and Progression. Symbolic usages of language in poetry and the deepening of Buddhist faith; the development of descriptive symbolism and the contributions of professional poet-scholars and arbiters of late classical poetic taste. Reflection #6 on Shin Kokinshū assigned today. Due on Thurs this week.

Read before class today:(1) Moodle “A Group of Poems from Shin Kokinshū.”(2) Skim Konishi article on association and progression linkage techniques.

THURS (#23): Introduction to major themes, motifs, and characters in the classic novel of Heian literature, The Tale of Genji (early 11th century).

Read before class today:(1) Please complete your reading of The Tale of Genji (abridged version of the ‘new’ Royall Tyler translation).(2) World of the Shining Prince, “Murasaki Shikibu,” chapter 9, and “Aspects of the Tale of Genji,” chapter 10.

WEEK 13, Includes Thanksgiving HOLIDAY FINAL PAPER DUE TODAY

TUES (#24): Discussion of the Tale of Genji, with attention to the Yugao chapter; substitutes, surrogates, perversion, and coercion; rank and courtship/marriage in the Tale of Genji.

Read before class today:(1) Moodle: Norma Field, “A Substitute for All Seasons.”(2) Moodle: Sonja Arntzen, “The Tale of Genji.”

Please note: There will be a take-home essay on the Tale of Genji. Questions will be provided to you this week and you will pick one for your essay. This piece will be graded as a portion of the final exam. The essay should e no shorter than three typed pages (12 font, with 1 inch margins) and will be due in typed form on the day of the final exam.

WEEK 14, TUES (#25): Genji: The language of love: tanka poetry.

(1) Moodle download.

THURS (#26): Kamo no Chōmei’s essay, Hōjōki (An Account of My Hermitage, 1212), a medieval masterpiece in the eremitic tradition. Recluses, hermits, semi-hermits of the city; escape during the Latter Age of the Buddhist Law. The image of the thatched hut in art and literature; reclusion as a Buddhist and (semi-)secular lifestyle. History, disaster, and darkening times as reflected in Chomei’s iconic essay.

Read before class today:(1) McCullough, pp. 377-92.(2) Moodle: Marra, “Semi-Recluses and Impermanence” (for today and next Tuesday).

WEEK 15: TUES (#27): The outlook and values of courtier-recluse Yoshida Kenkō, author of Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness, ca. 1330), a ‘zuihitsu’ essay that defined the artistic sensibilities of artist-intellectuals of his age. Conceptions of artistic elegance and the respective sensibilities and roles of court men and women, priests and laity.

Read before class today: (1) McCullough, pp. 393-421.

THURS (#28): Renga, the “linked verse” tradition; the art (rules) and practice of renga as a social pastime.

Read before class today:(1) Earl Miner, trans. “Three Poets at Minase,” a renga sequence, pp. 171-225.(2) Skim, “The Art of Renga,” by Konishi Jinichi.

WRITING ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE COURSE

OVERVIEW The purpose of this section is to provide you with some basic guidelines concerning the written assignments for Japanese 311. As the course goes along, you will receive pointers, corrections, and also detailed handouts on selected “problems” or aspects of college writing in the literature area.

No matter what you are reading in this course, I would like you to be reading with an open mind and thinking what the “particulars” of your own research inquiry might be. In the course of reviewing other scholars’ research, please make a habit of keeping thorough notes, recording data and making observations which will assist you in forming your own research questions and collecting data for analysis.

In all writing assignments, you will be looking to answer questions raised and to synthesize important cultural and literary qualities of the text under study. Most papers will be response papers, your reflections on texts, but will be written in response to specific problems or questions raised, which will be designed to give you a focal point in your writing. These are not research papers; rather you are offering a reaction. How did you receive the work? What factors likely accounted for its literary merit in its day? Cite the text to give evidence of your findings. Also, can you identify with the situation or the emotions expressed therein? What does the writer’s response tell you about his/her society and values? The nature of his or her suffering or conflict? What social or family situations engendered the writer’s response? No matter what you wish to observe, you will need to provide a clear and thoughtful thesis statement, a concise sentence or two that indicate where your paper is headed and your own point of view. Then, the body of your essay should contain evidence (and citations) designed to support your thesis. The final sentence in each paragraph will lead smoothly onto the next paragraph in an orderly manner. The whole essay should flow but also cohere.

Further guidelines follow. (1) Always, it is best to make comparisons or contrasts with other works/poems read previously, or even with works in other literary traditions that you have studied. (2) Often, the study/writing questions provided will be designed to help you identify aesthetic and literary motifs, conventions, and themes; at other times, you will be looking at “how” writers use language to beautify their prose or poetry. (3) Always, look for commonalities and trends, both with regard to theme, style or diction. (4) Literary writing is perhaps the highest form of human expression. What does the expressive work under study tell us about the mind or society of its writer? What aesthetic or religious values or other moral qualities are seen therein? Are these individual values or ones associated with courtiers in general?

For each paper, it is ideal if you can identify about 3 major points, which you will attempt to systematize and consolidate (also prioritize) in your response paper. If your observations are too numerous or diffuse, the focus of your paper will suffer. Do not start writing immediately. Break the ice first by doing some pre-writing, low-stress note-taking. How do you feel about what you’ve read? Do you understand or sympathize with the writer’s comments or observations concerning their experiences? Do the expressions of emotion ring true? What were some of the characteristics of the persons you encountered in the reading? What is striking about their values? What universal sentiments are aired? What, by contrast, seems a reflection of the local conditions, the aristocracy and its practices or institutions? Thinking in general terms first will help you to get your ideas flowing.

Next, begin your reactions or responses with a one-paragraph introduction. Clarify your topic (don’t assume the reader has read the writing assignment guidelines or topics) and indicate where the paper is heading. Each paper must have a clear thesis, a body where it is elaborated, and a clear conclusion that does not merely repeat the substance of the main content. Then, each element in the theme should be accorded its own treatment. Before you begin writing, do decide on the most essential points upon which you will focus. Generally, these become your topic sentences in the paper. You will need to elaborate or develop your ideas by providing citations or other examples and details in such a

way as to flesh things your topic for the reader. You are obliged to convince the reader of the substance and reasonableness of your arguments.

The conclusion should summarize and also synthesize in an interesting way, showing your own thought and reflection. It will provide a final focus to your overall reaction and may hint at larger (or deeper) issues, which need to be pursued. In any event, you will want to reflect upon the value of your observations in light of the other works or extracts which you have read or the content of lectures. The aim is to contribute something of your own thoughts rather than to recite facts obtained from other writers alone.

In every paper you write, please do not neglect to quote from or refer to your text and to provide footnotes for all citations (or instances of indebtedness). The quotations should be integrated well into your argument so as to back up your claims. Remember, you are justifying to your reader why your opinions or conclusions are valid. At the end of your writing, no matter the length of the assignment, please include a List of References or name the text you have been discussing. Cite its bibliographic details for the reader. An MLA style sheet will be provided. Please note that for the 3-page assignments, you are to practice concision. Please plan your writing carefully so that you can fit your argument into the three-page format. Rewriting several times prior to final submission will be necessary. Attach a separate sheet containing your name, the paper title, and the date.

Term paper. Term papers are rather long (7-10 pages) compared to the above “response papers” and are meant to give you an opportunity to explore a topic deeply over many weeks and (it is hoped) contribute something new to the field. While it is best to use recent research materials for your term paper, publications in English in the field of Japanese classical literature are rather thin in most areas. Thus, it is necessary to use materials from both the pre-war and post-war periods of scholarship. Some of your materials will be available at UM, while others must be obtained through ILL or from web data bases and websites considered reliable in the field. Detailed guidance concerning paper topics, length, manner of citation, how to conduct research, and many other concerns will be provided both in person and in written materials (handouts).

RESPONSE PAPER #1 (WITH ADVICE ON HOW TO PREPARE RESPONSE PAPERS)

Please write a response or reaction paper three pages in length (typed, using 12 pt font, 1” margins, a separate title page, and will all lines double spaced). Please see information on writing response papers, below, and listen carefully in class when the assignment is discussed in more detail.

Please treat either question 1 or 2. Read the writing guidelines provided in class. As always, clearly cite the passage, source, and author being discussed and make sure that your theme (point of view or argument) is clearly stated, then expounded and validated clearly. Add a suitable conclusion to wrap up your remarks at the end. Proofread carefully and write several drafts: eliminate unnecessary verbiage, typos, defective sentences, and please make sure that you back up your contentions, citing other writers wherever possible to lend authority to your opinions.

What is a response paper? A response reaction paper is not a ‘detailed, passionless analysis’ as one professor once said, decades ago. Neither are they mere summaries. Begin by asking a question or two, as a beginning point for your discussion. Start by brainstorming. Get some ideas together as you read. Take notes. Then reread with those questions in mind. The aim here (whether it is your notebook of reactions or a two page mini-paper) is to record your thoughts and impressions in the response paper, these based on good logic and supporting statements (always given with page number reference notes); there needs to be a ‘thesis,’ a main body/paragraph, and a concluding portion.Ideas How were your expectations met, as you read this piece? Were they exceeded, or were you disappointed and why? What exactly did you find of particular interest and why? Did this work ‘teach’ you about any aspect of Japanese culture, in an unexpected way, perhaps? Explain. Would you recommend this work, and if so, what in particular captured your imagination or impressed you? Be specific. You may look at a literary element (character, conflict, setting, theme, the ‘tone,’ symbols, imagery, use of allegory, where present, etc); a single conversation or exchange and its larger meaning; a short poem and its philosophical or other ‘meaning’; the way rhetoric, diction, or symbols work in the piece—to what effect? Evaluate use of metaphor or imagery, or analyze the sounds: sometimes the sounds used in a poem contribute a subtle psychological effect. If there is a Buddhist content, explain. What does the poet say about his/her experience of life and being human? Is there something here that resonates with you, the modern reader? What, if anything, is ‘culture bound’ or less easily assimilated?

Citations Cite your text by page number and source. Citations provide a focal point and a backbone for your argument or point of view; if used effectively, quotations will improve the credibility of your arguments.

Good writing is always essential: organization, clarity of expression, conciseness, coherence, and LOGICAL rigor and flow are important. Don’t lose the reader by falling down in one of these key areas. Do a spell check and several re-writes or drafts. Clean up your own English as much as possible by proof reading and by reading aloud what you have written. Have someone else also read your prose carefully and see if it makes sense. If it is hard for them to plow through, keep working. Be creative but reasonable. There is not “one right answer” when you set out to examine and respond to literary writing.

Question 1: Background reading (Varley, Sansom) on Japanese court culture

Succinctly evaluate the merit (or lack of merit) of the following statement concerning Heian court culture by Japanese historian Sir George Sansom in light of your readings of Morris and Varley to date and considering also the content of lectures.

QUOTATION “If many of the activities of this age were artificial to the point of silliness, they did, we must remember, express a culture remarkable, probably unique, in that it was almost entirely aesthetic.” Sir George Sansom, Japan: A Short Cultural History, p. 239.

Question 2:

Religious beliefs and activities reflecting these were complex, eclectic, and syncretic, affecting many aspects of daily life. Comment on at least several of the particular beliefs found in the Kaoru (Genji) passage quoted at the beginning of the Religion chapter, indicating their source and role in plot formation and their value or utility to the protagonist/s. Also, please evaluate/explain whether you agree or disagree with the view that religious beliefs of this sort can be seen as a kind of human adaptation to certain needs and the demands of ancient life. RESPONSE PAPER #2: KOJIKI (712), MANYOSHU (Comp. Ca. 759-780)

Please write a succinct, well organized (and carefully edited) essay on either TOPIC ONE (KOJIKI) or TOPIC TWO (MANYOSHU). Aim for three pages, typed, following the prescription given in the recent “Presentation of Papers” handout.

TOPIC ONE: KOJIKI MYTHOLOGY

The following questions are based on the assigned reading (Kojiki).

(1) Reflect on the Japanese kami (gods) whose lives, deeds, and physical characteristics, are colorfully depicted in the Kojiki excerpt. Draw together several characteristics of the kami, seen as a whole, with examples or suitable citations from Kojiki to help make your point. Similar to this question is the next:

(2) Can you draw any conclusions about the type of society that appears to be depicted in the background of these myths? Describe it carefully, with details extracted from Kojiki to clarify your claims. Say how, if at all, that world reflects Japanese society itself.

(3) Although ‘good’ and ‘evil’ are sometimes only dimly distinguished in the language of the Kojiki, it is clear that some kinds of behavior were not to be tolerated. Discuss, with specific examples from your Kojiki excerpts.

(4) Discuss the depiction of the Sun Goddess in this excerpt from Kojiki. What features of the goddess= behavior, demeanor, etc., are emphasized and why do you think this might have been the case?

(5) What does the marriage of Izanagi and Izanami tell us about gender roles in the minds of the ancient Japanese at least at the time this story was recorded? What is the significance of the “breach” in their ceremony and its repercussions? How is sexual reproduction defined?

(6) Note the Orpheus/Eurydice like legend of Izanami’s death. How is the underworld depicted?Why does she ask her husband not to come for her? What is the punishment he incurs and why this particular one?

(7) Why so much attention to the Storm God Susanowo’s destructive behaviors? What might the narrators/myth-makers been thinking? How would you describe Amaterasu’s reaction to this behavior? How are the various intolerable indignities finally dealt with?

(8) Identify several of the ‘main’ ways in which life forms were seen to be created, through Kojiki’s Shinto lens. Can you see any relation between “status” of a god and mode of procreation accessed?

TOPIC TWO: MANYOSHU POETRY

The Japanese people were strongly aware of the sea, for obvious reasons, and use images from the sea—its waves, surges, depths—in an evocative manner in their poetry, especially in the MYS (8 th c). Compare and contrast the varied use of ocean/water imagery in the Manyoshu, with citations of the original verse in every case and your interpretation and comments regarding the question of “to what ends” ocean imagery is used in each instance. Imagine you are writing for an educated “lay” audience with interest in your subject but no previous exposure to it. Explain not only on the imagery but also the diction (word choice) and rhetoric utilized in each poem (where relevant). Make sure you have a workable, clear theme that is addressed/developed in each part of your essay.

When you site a poem, cite all of it, if it is a tanka, and cite the relevant stanza (paragraph) if it is a choka “long poem.” Give the poet’s name, where known (otherwise write “anon.”), and the approximate time period, for each poem you cite, in parentheses.

For example, if this is the relevant poem, cite it where you discuss it—even in the middle of the discussion, or wherever it serves you best, like this:

Along the Tago coastWe come out to the open and see it—How white it is!The lofty cone of Fuji sparklingBeneath its newly fallen snow. (Akahito, ca early 8th c., from Miner, p. 68)

Often times, you can only estimate the date; if your sources cannot even estimate it, then this can be passed over as “unknown.”

RESPONSE PAPER #3: KOKINSHU (comp. 905)

Please write on the Kokinshu question, below.

Discuss, using contrast and comparison (see notes previously supplied with Reflection 2) the contrasting but psychologically compatible treatments of love developed in at least three of the following Kokinshu-period poems. Explain wherever possible the cultural and religious sources for the underlying philosophies, as discussed in lectures. Be sure to cite any essays/works you have read (Varley, Morris, etc). Be sure to bring out a particular angle/point of view in your theme that seeks to embrace such differences.

1. In deepening/Darkness of the heart I wander/Lost in bafflement/Let one wise in worldly love decide/What is dream and what is reality. (Narihira, Kokinshu 646)

2. Like scattered rushes/The wild tangle of my love--/Can she even know/This yearning unless someone goes/To tell of my disordered heart? (Kokinshu 485)

4. Weary with it all/I have resolved to force myself/To forget my love,/But these things called dreams still come/To cheat me into hope. (Fujiwara no Okikaze, Kokinshu 569 )

5. Because the leaves/On the mountain trees/Change color in the autumn wind/I wonder if your heart too will change. (Priest Sosei, Kokinshu 714)

6. Sad are the rice seeds,/Blown away by the autumn wind--/I fear that the seed of my love, too,/Will bear no harvest,/Since you remain indifferent to me. (Komachi, Kokinshu #822)

RESPONSE PAPER #4: KANSHI (CHINESE-STYLE) POETRY

Please answer one of the following four questions, using several specific kanshi selections to underline your points and conclusions. These should be from the assigned text (Rabinovitch/Bradstock translations, in Dance of the Butterflies). Be sure to begin with a clear thesis statement, which is to say, “a significant focal point,” a unifying idea that will be the central concern in your discussion.

(1) What particular human values, whether moral or aesthetic (or both), are championed the poems you’ve chosen? Relate with careful reference to specific poems.

(2) Regarding reclusion (or the mere yearning for it), i.e., leaving the mundane world behind, how do the poets deal with the theme of reclusion (whether religious or secular), and what commonalities do you see in their approach?

(3) Feelings of friendship and affection and the importance of friendship are a common topos in kanshi. Discuss how feelings of friendship, brotherhood, or other evidence of human ties reflect themselves in the poems. What about the theme of romantic love? To what extent is it seen in these poems? It is a comparably rare theme in kanshi, while dominant in tanka, by contrast.

Give credible details, examples, arguments, or other evidence to support your thesis statement and to support whatever claims you make as you interpret the words or sentiments of the poem. In doing so, it is important to actually cite the lines and specific words/phrases which show how your conclusions are valid. Add an explanation of your interpretation of those words or sentiments so that the reader will understand your remarks without straining or becoming lost. This problem will be more fully discussed in class prior to the assignment, as it is an area or weakness in past writing.

* Have each paragraph start with its own topic sentence. The content of that paragraph must fit into the topic introduced, with examples to bear out the claims.

*The conclusion should be directly related to the content of the paper, without merely repeating the same ideas mechanically.

*Please be sure to cite fully lines of poems or whole poems, as appropriate, with their page numbers. CENTER the poems cited.

*Double space the entire paper, with a separate cover sheet. Please do not write on the backs of pages. (Use single sided printing.)

*Proofread carefully, eliminating fragmentary sentences and reorganizing disorganized or repetitive content. Please reread your paper outloud many times, on different days, to continue to improve it, prior to submission.

RESPONSE PAPER #5: KAGERO NIKKI (THE GOSSAMER DIARY)

Please write on one of the following questions—at least 3 pages, with double spacing. Cite lines/passages from the diary in support of your points. Note that these are selected from among the Study Questions. Make sure you have a clear point of view (theme) and not just a “topic.” You are not writing a summary or a blow by blow narration of events in the diary. Instead you are to look more deeply into relationships, human conflicts, and the character/human limitations and needs of the two protagonists. Check to make sure you have a suitable conclusion, one that does not go off in a new direction. All views expressed need to be supported by citations/suitable evidence quoted directly from the passage. Please footnote your essay fully, as instructed in class.

(1) Please write an analysis of the theme and some of the salient points made by both sides, the Lady and Kaneie, in their long choka poem exchange found on pp. 120-123, where the diarist and Kaneie make their case in fairly direct terms.

(2) Did Kaneie and his wife have same-sex significant others (platonic or otherwise), as far as you have seen in Book I, translated in McCullough? Please write about either Kaneie’s or the Lady’s special relationship/s outside of their

marriage, focusing on any one relationship and its apparent importance to their life. See in particular the scenes beginning on pp. 127-30 & 145-50. Give specific evidence so as to reach a compelling and well-supported conclusion. (3) In the context of Heian plural marriages, are there passages in the extract which show Kaneie’s character and treatment of the diarist in a negative light? Please cite them with careful analysis and evidence to support your viewpoint.

(4) What about passages concerned with the Lady’s attitude towards Kaneie and her treatment of him? Does her account of him show her in a favorable light? If so, why? If not, why not? Give specific evidence so as to reach a compelling and well-supported conclusion. (5) There are scenes or passages in the diary where the Lady seems lost in subjective, raw emotion and is less effective in communicating her understanding of things. Discuss one representative passage that illustrates this aspect of the text, providing full analysis and detailed observations, making sure that you cite the text to back up each of your views.

RESPONSE PAPER # 6: SHINKOKINSHU (1205), “A New Anthology of Poetry Ancient and Modern”

Please write at least three pages on the following topic. In the e-res materials, #12, you will find an excerpt from Stephen Carter's book, Traditional Japanese Poetry, titled "Retired Emperor Go-Toba (1180-1239) and 'Shin Kokinshu.'” Chose any five poems from within the sequence, which begins with #361 (on p. 184 of Carter's book) and goes to #385 (on page 192), and give a detailed literary analysis of each, while at the same time explaining how one verse is linked to the next using the techniques of association and progression, which should be carefully explained. This assignment will be an extension of analysis/discussion conducted in class on other poems in similar series and using the A and P techniques identified and explained in the handout/reading assignment(s).

Also, be sure to provide a short introduction clarifying the context for the verses you have selected.

The paper should thus be divided into the following 3 parts:

ONE: Establish for the reader the context for this series: (1) Also, be sure to explain to your reader, who does not know the subject matter, the elements of the technique of association and progression. (2) From what part of the Shin Kokinshu (and under which seasonal category) do these poems come? (3) Time of day (even minute shifts in time frame) should also be considered as a further aspect of the setting. (4) What ‘associative’ elements link the verses you have selected? (Refer to handout and reading materials on this subject.) (5) When were the poems written? Note how

old verses are alternated with more recent compositions in many instances. Why? (6) Finally, how or by whom were these poems organized into the present narrative-like form?

SECOND, give your analysis, the content of which is outlined for you above in the first paragraph.

THIRD, after writing your analysis of the poems, write one paragraph on the following questions: What were the likely artistic objectives of the editors in linking the poems this way? Expressed another way, what was gained through this superimposed narrative? How are the poems changed by their contextual re-ordering or arrangement?

Genji Monogatari (abridged edition, trans. by Royall Tyler)

Questions for the Final Exam (Take-home Section)

Please choose ONE of the following five questions and write at least 3 pages but no more than 4 pages. Your answers must be typed in 12 point font, the paper double spaced with one inch margins all around, and your name placed on an outer cover sheet. Use the good writing skills I have tried to impart this term; revise your first drafts and proofread carefully, striving to enhance both clarity of theme and specificity of necessary detail/quoted material. This essay will constitute one fifth of your final exam assessment or 5% of your grade in the course.

How to document: as is usual for academic papers, please be careful to use the most careful documentation of your sources, with quotation marks around every instance of borrowed text (the words of others), with specific page citations from both Genji and from other writers. For long quotes (longer than 3 sentences), please use block indentation (in which case ‘quote marks’ are not inserted). Every block indentation must have a footnote source/page note to show the source of the citation. Do not forget to indicate with a footnote (giving source and page) your indebtedness to any source of information which lies behind a fact, observation, or opinion that you have offered. Paraphrase with great care—and always give a page citation.

(1) Discuss, with at least 3 suitable examples (and good citations) the theme of ‘illicit love’ and attraction, which emerges prominently in the chapters of Genji assigned in this class. (2) Indicate as well what Lady Murasaki the writer should like us to understand – or reflect upon -- concerning the gentleman Genji and, more generally, humankind.

(2) In one scholar's view, the active role played by women as sexual beings and their ability or inclination to retain the interest and support of male nobles has a great deal to do with their fortunes; in fact, it is in his view, the second most important factor in their lives after birth or pedigree. Do you agree? If so, why? If not, why not? Please discuss several specific examples, with careful analysis, from your reading of the Tyler abridged translation.

(3) Chapter 8 ends, “He (Genji) was pleased – and yet.” How do you interpret this ending in the context of what is already known about the character Genji? Please carefully analyze the possibilities of this less than concrete, but nevertheless suggestive, ending.

(4) Genji’s fickle side is clearly in evidence throughout these chapters. We know him as a man who easily gains and loses interest in women and who often finds casual relationships easier than the more passionate ones. In Chapter 11 and elsewhere, however, we see a less self-absorbed character. (1) Explain, with at least several contrasting examples, how this other side of Genji is illuminated. (2) Why does the author take us in this direction, in your view?

(5) Genji’s exile to Suma (the cause of which you should identify carefully) is a punishment that holds the possibility of redemption. Genji here and elsewhere also, it seems, becomes aware that all things eventually reverse themselves, naturally. Discuss both redemption and reversal as twin themes in the exile sub-story. (This question is best for a reader who has gone through Ch 13, in case you’ve completed that chapter as well.) (6) One commentator has written that "the salient fact that emerges from Murasaki’s book, driven home in one episode after another is that the extreme physical and psychological vulnerability of the Heian woman augured ill for her happiness." Critique this view, discussing/analyzing in detail at least 3 examples from the Tyler abridged edition.

TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT FOR JPNS 311

I hope this email helps you to get started with your final (approved) paper project. I am here to help throughout all phases of your project.

The Paper, an Overview: As you know, your most substantial writing assignment in this course entails your preparing a final literature paper, 7-10 pages, with careful traditional footnoting (with sources and pages at the page bottom, using the WORD footnoting features, rather than with information placed into the text in parenthesis).

A Note on length: the above page count does not include the page(s) which provide your full bibliography nor does it include the title page. If you wish to use endnotes, instead of footnotes, please include those in your page count.

Audience: Please write not for me, an expert reader, but for an educated, interested layperson. That is, fill in all details and explain things carefully: your reader “doesn’t know much” about Japanese literature.

A Rewrite is compulsory. Because this is an UD writing course under the Gen Ed requirements, all students must complete a first draft and then a rewrite of the paper, after receiving my comments and suggestions for improvement. The final grade will be based on the second draft.

Deadline: Time Schedule for Draft/Final Paper is as set forth in the Syllabus: The first draft, as perfect as you can reasonably make it, is due Thurs week 11 (Th); the rewrite will be due at the end of week 14--date to be announced (Th or Fri). Attention, please: no late papers or proposals can be accepted. I cannot extend any deadlines.

Proposal and Your Chosen Topics: The proposal will be due on Thurs of Week Eight, in class. In order that I can best help you write a good paper, please write a short but clear proposal (up to two pages+ double spaced, including source list) and/or a careful outline (strongly preferred!) to explain the subject or concern that you have selected and to

indicate some of your anticipated theme and findings. A separate handout will be provided concerning how to write a research proposal.

Topic. The subject matter/theme of your paper is open and up to you to define but it should represent original content -- from you -- with careful use of whatever English-languages sources can be brought to bear. The possibilities are highly varied. Please see me before you make a final decision, if there is any uncertainty. Please do select a literary topic (this course is a study of classical literature, not political history, anthropology, biography, sociology, or biography, etc.) about which you can reflect, analyze, and define a limited subject matter in a cohesive and satisfactory fashion, so as to interpret and appreciate the selected work, poems, or piece in its human and cultural context.

Begin by asking yourself what would you really enjoy investigating? Something that ignites your interest is best. However, whatever the subject, you will need to gain enough background on your chosen subject, through researching, reading, and pondering things carefully. Writing on a particular image or group of images in nature poetry, about some aspect of lyrical expression surrounding the experience of love, about philosophical aspects of certain selected poems, or other such literary treatments are all acceptable ground, as long as you are able to reflect carefully and delve deeply into your theme or subject. You need to read widely to learn how others have dealt with similar subjects—and cite sources appropriately. But in the end, your fresh (but supportable) ideas are what count. Thought and reflection ought to yield many interesting ideas. Note: This is not meant to be a book report, nor should it be a summary of a work’s plot, its author’s life, or similar fact-based approaches.

Delimitation: Please do not choose too large a topic or one that cannot adequately be researched under our constraints. Make sure that you have something specific/focused to contribute about a nicely confined topic: this is not a long paper, and you and I will be frustrated if you have picked an oversized project. (I will pre-screen your topic and make a recommendation if it is too large and/or complex for a term paper.) A small patio garden well cared for has more appeal that an unkept, larger one.

Footnotes/Endnotes/Style: Every paper should be carefully and amply annotated, to give full and accurate attribution to each and every source (see below on ‘sources’) consulted or cited (even if a paraphrase). You must provide sources for all poems and other extracts from texts, these citations providing page numbers, translator’s names, etc. Please consult the MLA style guide, The Chicago Manual of Style, or Kate Turabian’s style reference concerning how to annotate your paper, prepare a source bibliography, and so forth. A handout with samples, showing both footnoting practices and bibliographical citation style, will be provided in class. Please study it carefully. You must use humanities-style annotation/documentation in both footnotes and the list of sources (NOT a scientific or social science style). This means, among other things, that information about your sources and any additional explanations or points to be added as annotations need to be placed into footnotes or endnotes and not into parentheses embedded in your narrative.

Citations: Please cite poems IN the text, as you go. If it is awkward to do so in some special cases, you may put full text passages into notes or into an appendix. Do not cite long poems and kill space unnecessarily: cite the relevant stanza (4-5 lines) only, particularly if the rest of the poem is not germane to your point. Ask me if you feel you need to provide an appendix in order to list full poem citations. (I am negotiable on page length in special cases.)

Sources: Learning to use a variety of appropriate Japanese studies sources is an important part of this project. The use of such sources will be discussed throughout the term, with detailed advice concerning research in libraries and data bases to be provided. You are likely to find works not only in out Library collection but also in data bases. You may also need to borrow books from ILL services. Potential materials include not only articles but also monographs and dissertations that deal with all or part of your topic or provide some level of assistance in formulating your paper’s main commentary or discussion. The number of major sources consulted is likely to be at least 7-10 or more; it depends upon your topic.

Remember to cite sources for all information not in the public domain: these sources will mount up, if you are going about it correctly. Since you are writing for a non-expert audience, you will need to “fill in” the reader at every turn, giving background and clarification. Facts can also be quoted from lectures or readings in this course, which must be documented, if they are used. (You may of course cite my lectures, with specific details, by date.)

Above all, please do not ever misuse or appropriate another’s work as your own. Please read the handout on plagiarism (this will also discussed in class) very carefully before you initiate your research and writing.

Use of Note Cards: Even if you have never done it before, please keep thorough notes (or note cards) on material excerpted from your readings, including quotations and poem selections. In your notes, be careful to cite not just the material itself (by title) but also your book source and the page number(s). Do not lose track of this important

documentation. If questions arise concerning your use of sources later on, I will ask you to bring these materials to my office so that we can sort things out.

Format/backups, etc: Please use only Times Roman 12 point font and one inch margins. Please print your paper in black ink, not in color and do double space. Do not triple space, please. Please be sure to keep backup copies of your work at every stage. Email submissions may be requested by me at the end for safe-keeping, but you must submit a printed copy by the deadline as your main submission. Thank you!

Translations: “Which translation is most reliable for use in my project?” This is a common but important question. The question of how to choose a translation is a complex matter and will be discussed both in class and on an individual basis when we sit down to discuss your project.

Terminology: Buddhist terms, cited using Sanskrit words, for example, need to be translated for the reader, as is the case with all other foreign language words used in your paper.

HOW TO WRITE A TERM PAPER PROPOSAL

How to Write a Paper Proposal (Week 6) Students, as you work through your wording of the final proposal for the term paper, please consider the following points, as a personal checklist. The proposal is perhaps the most important step in planning your paper; without a good one, you can easily become disoriented and lose track of the “mission.” It is therefore arguably the first and most important step in the process—together with actually reading and carefully studying/reflecting upon your topic. Here are some steps to help you write a proposal for a research paper. Although you may use an “outline” form for this proposal, if it is quite detailed, I would prefer a “prose” paper version of the proposal.

% 1 Devise an effective title. Think of something that will grab the reader's attention and keep them interested but will also guide them into the topic and theme of your actual paper. Be as concise as possible.

%2 Construct your abstract. This is a brief summary of your paper of around 300 words. Please check to make

sure you cover the following three points:

(a) Orient the reader in a considerate fashion. Explain texts and terms. What culture, social group, time period, and genre of text is it that you are studying? What persons/poets or others are involved? More detail of course is required in the actual paper, where you will want to explain persons’ dates, status, and importance in the literary tradition (in your paper, footnotes can be added to give details if they “intrude” excessively). Many explanations, though, belong right in the introduction. In the abstract and paper, when you mention (as you should) Jpns genre names, poetic forms by name, and other specialized terminology, please be sure to explain each term used. Write for a general audience, not for me. Start broad and gradually focus down, in a reverse pyramid structure, when you orient the reader.

(b) Define your topic and theme. It isn’t just the topic that needs to be stated clearly; you also need to hone in on a theme, angle, or other interesting aspect of that topic that you have appreciated and that you intend to investigate. Put another way, the paper’s TOPIC and THEME are not the exact same thing. When you possess this clear mission, this angle or point of view, it makes your work easy to write and easy to read.

(c) Predict the general nature of your results. What will you show? Discuss the potential impact or INTEREST of the results you expect. If, for example, you are writing on something about which little at all has been written before, explain this and indicate how your results will contribute to forming a better understanding of the topic, genre, poetic canon, etc. Even at this early stage, you will surely have some idea of the data you will collect and what kinds of things you expect to show by citing poems or other materials. In other words, by stating in the abstract what you intend to show, you will be hinting at the conclusions that will be present in the paper. Readers are very interested in this, so give them a reason to keep going! In all things, as already stated, do not assume that the reader knows anything about your topic, the text itself or the culture—that is always safest.

3 Provide a resource list/comments: (1) which primary literary text/s of classical works and (2) which translation/s will you use? (3) You will also want to cite secondary scholarship on your text or on poetry (etc) in general. Please indicate your main sources and plan to keep note cards or records of your reading, in case a question arises later. By indicating your sources, you show your familiarity with the subject and also your consideration of others’ research findings that have gone before you. You do not want to appear to be writing “in a vacuum.” Earl Miner and Ivan Morris are among those you will want to use and cite. You may use materials obtained on the web as available or required but ONLY with correct quotation of those materials via precise web addresses, attribution of the authorship of the materials or views, and source documentation of the sort you’d be using if the books were borrowed from the Library.

Many books are on hard copy reserve for this course over in the Mansfield Library, at the reserve desk. A list was provided with the syllabus. No matter whose works you read for this paper, or cite in your paper, it is essential to give credit by footnoting sources all of those who have “aided and assisted” your research on this subject and (where relevant) developed the framework for your investigation.