Undergraduate Course: Kanji: A linguistic and cultural introduction (ASST08065)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course provides students with a detailed introduction to the linguistic and the socio-cultural aspects of kanji in Japanese. Bi-weekly synchronous (live) seminars will involve students in linguistic-based hands-on activities. The course also looks at some key issues in kanji research as a discussion topic. |
| Course description |
This course provides students with a detailed introduction to the linguistic and the socio-cultural aspects of kanji in Japanese, covering the Japanese writing system, Origin and structure of kanji, Decoding kanji, Technology and kanji, Kanji and education, Kanji in social context, Japanese visual culture. Bi-weekly synchronous (live) seminars will involve students participating in linguistic and cultural based hands-on activities. The course also looks at some key issues in kanji research, as a discussion topic.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Japanese Language Beginner (ASST08059)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Pre-Requisites (home students): You should either completed Japanese Language Beginner (ASST08059) or holding JLPT N5 or equivalent. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students from kanji background (e.g. Japan/China) cannot take this course.
You should either completed Japanese Language Beginner (ASST08059) or holding JLPT N5 or equivalent. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2020/21, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 20 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 8,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 4,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
160 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% course work
Seminar participation (20%) - Complete four asynchronous (I.e. done offline) task sheets or quizzes worth 5% each.
Active learning (10%) - Submit an ePortfolio containing three «Kanji Hands-on» materials.
800-word literature review on the week's reading. (10%)
Final written essay (minimum 2,000 words) 60%
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| Feedback |
Students will receive formative feed-forward, feed-back during tutorial sessions.
Formal written feed-back for Final written essay via LEARN
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand aspects of Japan's visual culture and its aesthetic concept of writing
- Acquire critical visual recognition skills to identify unfamiliar kanji words
- Accurately describe and analyze primary data
- Be able to evaluate and use a wide range of real-life materials in a given social context
- Conduct autonomous research and communicate arguments effectively in written form
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Reading List
Essential:
DeFrancis, J. (1984). The Chinese language: Fact and fantasy. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Gottlieb, N. (2000). Word-processing technology in Japan: Kanji and the keyboard. Richmond: Curzon.
Miyake, K. (2007). How Young Japanese Express Their Emotions Visually in Mobile Phone Messages: A Sociolinguistic Analysis. Japanese Ideologies of Literacy: Observations from Japanese Keitai Novels Studies, 27(1), 53-72.
Mori, Y. (2012). Five Myths about 'Kanji' and 'Kanji' Learning. Japanese Language and Literature: The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, 46(1), 143-169.
Nakata, Y. (1973). The art of Japanese calligraphy. New York: Weatherhill.
Rogers, H. (2004). Writing systems: A linguistic approach. Blackwell textbooks in linguistics; 18. Malden, Mass.; Oxford: Blackwell.
Seeley, C. (1991). A history of writing in Japan. Leiden: Brill 1991.
Shirakawa, S., Thwaits, A., & Sakatani, A. (2016). The origin of Chinese characters: Japanese and English. Tokyo: Heibonsha.
Recommended:
Gottlieb, N., & McLelland, M. (2003). Japanese cybercultures. London: Routledge.
Gottlieb, N. (2005). Language and society in Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Haas, William (1970) Phono-graphic translation. Manchester University Press.
Kess, J., & Miyamoto, T. (1999). The Japanese Mental Lexicon: Psycholinguistic Studies of Kana and Kanji Processing. Benjamins.
Matsumoto-Sturt, Y. (2007). An Intercultural and Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Untranslated Japanese Orthography in Spirited Away'. Language Ideologies and Media Discourse: Texts, Practices, Policies. [online]
Nishimura, Y. (2009). Ideologies of Literacy: Observations from Japanese Keitai Novels. Toyo Gakuen University Bulletin, 20, 165-180, 2012-03-15 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical thinking, analytical skills, information technology, group work, aesthetic understanding |
| Special Arrangements |
Pre-Requisites (home students): You should either completed Japanese Language Beginner (ASST08059) or holding JLPT N5 or equivalent. |
| Keywords | Kanji (Chinese characters),visual awareness,Japanese orthography,writing media,technology |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Yoko Sturt
Tel: (0131 6)50 4228
Email: y.m.sturt@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Vivien MacNish Porter
Tel: (0131 6)50 3528
Email: vivien.macnish-porter@ed.ac.uk |
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