54
Languages and Literature of Japan and Korea
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI "L'ORIENTALE"
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The aim of the course is to broaden the knowledge of Japanese literature acquired by students during their undergraduate studies, fostering a deeper understanding of previously explored themes and a more mature approach to the subject matter. The reading, analysis, and translation of texts in Japanese also aim to refine students’ linguistic and translation skills.
The course is designed to provide historical and literary knowledge useful for understanding the context in which authors and works are situated, along with methodological tools to support in-depth reading and critical analysis of literary texts, both in Italian and Japanese. In particular, for texts in Japanese, students will be guided in engaging with selected passages through in-class discussion and analysis. By the end of the course, students will be expected to demonstrate critical analytical skills concerning the topics covered. This progress will be assessed during the course—at least for attending students—through dialogue and discussion, and at the exam through the written paper and oral interview.
Additional expected learning outcomes are as follows:
Independent judgment:
The course aims to foster the student’s ability to evaluate texts or issues independently and personally, develop strong critical thinking skills—both written and oral—and further refine their linguistic abilities.
Communication skills:
By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to communicate effectively the information and ideas acquired during their studies and to clearly present the results of their own research.
Learning skills:
Students are expected to further refine their learning strategies beyond those developed during their undergraduate studies, expand their knowledge of subject-specific vocabulary, and gain greater familiarity with reading literary texts in Japanese.
Course Prerequisites
In addition to knowledge of the history of Japanese literature from antiquity to the present—according to the curricula typically covered in undergraduate programs at most Italian universities where this subject is taught—students are expected to have an intermediate to advanced level of Japanese (equivalent to the proficiency normally acquired by the end of a bachelor's degree). This level should enable them to read and engage with the literary excerpts in Japanese included in the course.
Furthermore, since part of the bibliography is in English, students are also required to have good reading comprehension skills in English.
Teaching Methods
The course consists of four hours of weekly lectures and runs for one semester. The lessons are not divided in a rigid way between traditional lectures and practical exercises; instead, they are characterized by the constant engagement of students in the topics discussed, as well as in the reading and translation of excerpts from Japanese. Students are encouraged to answer questions, express doubts, comment on, and discuss the themes that emerge during the lectures.
Assessment Methods
The exam consists of a single oral assessment, divided into three parts in which the students must: 1) present topics covered during the course; 2) discuss a short paper they have written; 3) read and translate a passage from Japanese, taken from one of the texts used in the course.
The exam is normally conducted in Italian, but at the request of international students, it may also be held in English or Japanese.
The tecaher will assess the student’s preparation based on the accuracy of the information provided, the ability to engage in critical analysis, the overall coherence of the discussion, competence in reading and translating from Japanese, and the discussion of the written paper. Evaluation will also take into account the correct citation of authors’ names and original titles of works, as well as accurate use of Japanese terms. The final grade will be expressed on a 30-point scale.
The written paper should be a short essay, between 6,000 and 8,000 characters in length, on a topic covered during the course, chosen by the student. It must be submitted via email to the teacher at least one week before the exam.
Texts
Giorgio Amitrano “Iki, la quintessenza della seduzione”, La Rivista dei Libri/The New York Review of Books, Maggio 1993: 34-36.
Natsume Sōseki, Il cuore delle cose, trad, di Nicoletta Spadavecchia, Milano, BEAT, 2021.
Isamu Fukuchi, "Kokoro and the Spirit of Meiji", Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 48, no. 4 (Winter, 1993), pp. 469-488.
Da Haruo Shirane and Tomi Suzuki, with David Lurie, The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2016:
Rebecca Copeland, “The Rise of Modern Women’s Literature”, pp. 598-604.
Joan E. Ericson, “A New Era of Women Writers”, pp. 641-648.
Joan E. Ericson, “The Origin of the Concept of «Women’s Literature»”, in Paul Gordon Schalow and Janet A. Walker, The Woman’s Hand. Gender and Theory in Japanese Women’s Writing, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1996, pp. 74-115.
Giorgio Amitrano, “Kajii Motojirō: Un’estetica dell’osservazione”, Il Giappone, anno XXIX, 1991, pp. 249-259.
Luca Capponcelli, “Kajii Motojirō e il panorama letterario del suo tempo”, in Kajii Motojirō, Limone e altri racconti, Roma, Atmosphere Libri, 2019, pp. 137-156.
Hayashi Fumiko, “La periferia”, in Atsuko Ricca Suga (a cura di), Narratori giapponesi moderni, Milano, Bompiani, pp. 417-433.
Hayashi Fumiko, “Il tardo crisantemo”, in Cristiana Ceci (a cura di), Racconti dal Giappone, Milano, Mondadori, pp. 79-111.
Higuchi Ichiyō, “L’ultimo dell’anno”, in L’ultimo dell’anno e altri racconti, a cura di Gala Maria Follaco, Roma. Aracne, 2016, pp. 111- 129.
Kajii Motojirō, “Limone” in Limone e altri racconti, a cura di Luca Capponcelli, Roma, Atmosphere Libri, 2019, pp. 13-20.
Kajii Motojirō, “Sotto gli alberi di ciliegio” e “Accoppiamenti”, Il Giappone, anno XXIX, 1991, pp. 259-266.
Da Donald Keene, Dawn to the West. Japanese Literature of the Modern Era. Fiction, New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984:
Kawabata Yasunari (787-845), Dazai Osamu e la Burai-ha (pp. 1022-1064) Mishima Yukio (1167-1222)
Dazai Osamu, Lo squalificato, trad. di Antonietta Pastore, Milano, Mondadori, 2022.
Giorgio Amitrano, “Kawabata e Mishima”, in Gala Maria Follaco (a cura di), Cultura letteraria giapponese. Le mille forme della scrittura dal VII al XXI secolo, Milano, Hoepli, 2023, pp. 271-274.
Yasunari Kawabata, Yukio Mishima, "Lettere", a cura di Lydia Origlia, Milano, SE, 2002.
Note: The list of reference texts may be subject to change. Attending students will be informed of any updates during the course. Non-attending students are strongly advised to check with the teacher for any modifications.
Contents
Figures of Modernity in Japanese Literature: Aesthetics, Gender, Narrative.
This course, designed for graduate students who have already acquired knowledge of the literary history of Japan from antiquity to the present, aims to deepen certain crucial themes of modernity, with particular attention to aesthetic dimensions, the evolution of gender dynamics, and developments in narrative art stemming from contact with Western culture.
The course is structured around the following topics:
- Iki, or the Philosophy of Seduction
- Kokoro Between Modern Ideals and Respect for Tradition
- Whispers and Cries: Women’s Literature
- Kajii Motojirō: An Aesthetic of Observation
- Dazai Osamu: The Difficulty of Being Oneself
- From Akutagawa to Shakespeare: The Literary Sources of Kurosawa’s Cinema
- Kawabata and Mishima: Affinities and Dissonances
Course Language
ITALIAN
More information
There is no distinction in the syllabus between attending and non-attending students; however, non-attending students are advised to contact the instructor—either in person during office hours or by email at the following address: gamitrano@unior.it for further information on the course content or any updates to the reading list.