Japanese Studies

In this module, you’ll discuss facts about the Japanese language, helping you improve your Japanese language knowledge. You discuss topics from social and geographic language variation, to the relationship between language and culture, and grammatical analysis. You’ll deepen your knowledge of how language works in use and conversation, and you’ll understand the relationship between language and society.

In this module, you’ll explore traditional Japanese arts. You’ll learn to understand and appreciate the style and techniques of art forms such as: 

• Ukiyo-e (wood-block prints and paintings)
• Haiku (famously brief poetic form)
• Kabuki (classical dance-drama)
• Ikebana (the art of flower arranging)

You’ll also gain core critical skills for work as you address key issues such as:

• the representation of gender and sexuality
• class issues 
• religious and philosophical assumptions

You’ll gain a broad knowledge of the historical and social contexts of these arts in Japan. You’ll explore individual works in greater depth, as you analyse how the arts relate to wider Japanese culture.

Do you dream of working as an English language teacher? Do you want to help adult learners grasp the English language? In this module, you’ll get to grips with English language teaching. You’ll gain a strong knowledge of teaching English, and essential skills in effective language teaching. You’ll also develop key practical skills for teaching English to adult learners. If you take this course, you’ll be able to apply to British Study Centres Oxford to complete your teaching practice, and acquire a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA). This is recognised by Cambridge Assessment as a pre-service training qualification.

In this module, you’ll investigate Japanese popular culture through live-action cinema, manga (Japanese comics) and anime (Japanese animated films). You’ll understand how these media have developed in Japan, how they are presented and received in Japanese culture and how they reflect social and cultural issues. You’ll gain core analytical skills as you examine their narrative and stylistic themes, and what they can tell us about the social, political and cultural issues of late twentieth-century and early twenty-first-century Japan.

How did Japan rise from a feudal nation with few resources, to the world’s third largest economy? In this module, you’ll follow the making of modern Japan. You’ll explore Japan’s response to western colonialism and empire-building, and its own colonialist programmes. You’ll examine the social, economic and political changes of this period through investigating primary sources. You’ll also follow these changes through the works of both Western and Japanese scholars (in translation). You’ll gain core research skills to help you succeed in your degree, as you consider the tools and methods we need to study Japan, the world and history. 

From tattooed gangsters and drag queens to salarymen and hostesses, how does gender and the body affect Japanese society? In this module, you’ll question your assumptions about femininity and masculinity, and gain core critical skills as you explore topics such as: 

• LGBTQ+ rights
• the ethics of organ donation
• abortion
• end of life care
• martial arts
• religious practice.

You’ll explore the topics that fascinate you in greater depth, through:

• student-led seminars
• group work
• a research essay.

In this module, you’ll accelerate your success in your placement year, as you gain the skills you need to communicate effectively in Japanese. You’ll gain key skills in presenting to an audience, as well as expressing your ideas to someone at an upper beginner’s level. You’ll also develop a deeper understanding of how communication works, transforming you into a skillful communicator of Japanese. 

You’ll be able to focus in depth on a study area that you’ll discuss with your supervisor. You’ll exercise your research skills and carry out an independent academic project that will help you develop your critical reflection and academic writing skills.

In this module, you’ll put classic Japanese cinema in the spotlight, and get to grips with its social and historical context. You’ll explore films from one of the most tumultuous and transformative eras in Japanese history, and you’ll link them to social and political developments in Japan during the twentieth century. You’ll also develop excellent critical skills as you consider films in the context of debates around the meaning and significance of classical Japanese cinema.

You will explore the expression of different identities through Japanese. In particular, you’ll look at “role language” or yakuwarigo. Which features in fiction and is used to portray certain attributes such as an old man, a noble woman or a warrior.

You will engage with examples of Japanese role language and learn to develop your skills to conduct your own research. You'll also look at “character language” and what happens in translation. You will gain a deep understanding on the use and effects of role/character language in Japanese.  Building key knowledge on the expression of different identities in Japanese.

In this module you will develop your ability to engage with authentic Japanese texts at an advanced level. You will learn to navigate a variety of literary writing styles as you are introduced to literary texts from different periods of Japanese history, and you will acquire a deeper understanding of the historic and cultural context in which these works were written. You will learn to critically analyse the texts you read. 

In this module, you’ll get to grips with key concepts in translation and analyse different types of translation in an array of texts. You’ll explore how meaning is expressed through words and how it differs from language to language.

You’ll dig into examples of translation, and learn how to translate from Japanese into English and from English into Japanese. You’ll gain the core skills to succeed as a language specialist as you explore the linguistic differences between Japanese and English, and how they affect translation.

In this module, you’ll build fantastic teamwork skills for your career, and accelerate your knowledge of the Japanese language. You’ll come together as a mixture of native Japanese and English speakers, and work in groups to improve your language skills, and learn more about each other’s cultures. You’ll increase your skills in oral communication, allowing you to speak in Japanese on topics from culture and politics, to life in the UK or Japan. You’ll gain critical knowledge of your own language development as you set goals to improve your language skills, and support each-other as students. 

In this module, you’ll gain excellent skills for your degree, as you analyse and present your experiences of your year abroad. You’ll gain core critical skills for your degree, as you analyse your time living in a different culture, and the wider cross-cultural experiences of individuals or groups. You’ll do independent research on an aspect of the country you lived in that fascinates you. You’ll also present the outcomes of your research at a mock academic conference, giving you vital skills for work.

What does it mean to be Japanese? We often assume that the Japanese are “one people”, but in this module, you’ll meet Japan’s ethnic minorities and marginalised groups. You’ll learn about their experiences - both historically and today. You’ll gain key analytical skills as you relate minorities and marginalisation in Japan to broader concerns with:

• ethnic and cultural identity
• class structure
• marginalisation and precarity in the workforce experienced by younger people
• national identity
• hybridity in cultures
• migration and post-colonialism
• Indigenous rights.

Focus in depth on a topic that you’ll discuss with your supervisor. You’ll choose between an academic research project, a work-based project with a short-term working experience, or a work-related project such as organising an event to bring new ideas to people.