JAPN 311 - Social Issues In Japan
Course Description: As the drive to rebuild modern Japan after WWII slowed, latent and new social problems have become visible. This course offers interdisciplinary perspectives on issues such as care of the elderly and homeless, equal treatment of minorities, gender and labor issues, domestic and world ecological concerns, and relevant institutions that promote or attack prejudice towards heterogeneous social groups. Taught in English.
Fulfills: MLO 4
Fulfills: MLO 4
Course Reflective Narratives
This was the first Japanese course that I have taken in my studies in the Spanish program. While the name of the class is “Social Issues in Japan”, the content was more broad to give historical and cultural context to relate everything together. I especially enjoyed the lessons on Okinawan residents in Brazil and the lecture on hafu individuals living in Japan. One of the pieces of advice that Dr. Romano gave us multiple times in class was to decentralize our thinking from an American perspective. We can draw comparisons between different cultures but there are dynamics and historical context that are often overlooked in translation. I found myself constantly asking in my analysis if I was looking at topics from a different perspective rather than that of what I am used to. This skill of worldly thinking transfers interdisciplinary to many other classes as it is important to look at things from multiple perspectives rather than one. With the class being part of the secondary culture requirement for the Spanish program, I was able to fulfill the learning outcomes of MLO 4 in my final essay written about hardship for the LGBT+ community in Japan. The class also fulfilled CSUMB’s graduation writing requirement (GWAR) along with Area D of upper-division general education coursework which acts as a requirement for integrated social science. Along with the scope of the class, Dr. Romano helped us to develop our writing skills in the essay form through a peer review and article review to facilitate research experience. Additionally, there were occasional forum discussions that were shorter which had us discuss certain topics such as labor in Japan or comments about film viewings. All in all, I was able to develop my writing and focus on areas in which I can improve such as the act of research and paraphrasing. I especially enjoyed the class environment that Dr. Romano facilitated along with learning about a different culture. Taking this class has helped me to broaden my view of world cultures and I am excited for what comes next.