Japanese Studies minor (B-ARTS_MINOR_36)

Overview

The undergraduate program in Japanese Studies comprises coursework designed to build students’ knowledge and skills in understanding and analysing Japanese language and society.

Japanese subjects are organised in a progressive sequence (of units) from Japanese 1 through to Japanese 8 with several additional units. Entry and exit points are determined by the student’s background in the language, placement testing, prerequisites, or at the discretion of the Japanese program. Students normally progress through the subjects in consecutive order. Mid-year entry is also possible into subjects with even numbers, subject to appropriate prior experience and approval from the convenor of the Japanese Studies program.

The language-society subjects are designed to maximise acquisition of the language and to develop their communication skills in various types of texts, interactional contexts and strategic aspects of meaning making. The curriculum also allows students to develop a broad understanding of cultural, social and historical aspects of Japan. Non-language subjects such as Social Problems in Japan help students understand the complexity and diversity of the society, and challenge stereotypes. Teaching staff create a meeting place where students from a variety of cultural backgrounds can explore intercultural language activities to promote intercultural as well as communicative competence.

Note: Students in the Japanese Studies minor cannot also take the Japanese Societies minor due to the "Diversity of Study" Course rule

Intended learning outcomes

Students that complete this minor will:

Gain effective oral and written communication skills in Japanese, and an in-depth knowledge of Japanese language, culture and society, relative to their entry level, and develop a capacity to combine knowledge of the Japanese language with one or more disciplines through critical research inquiry.
Gain knowledge of the social and cultural diversity of Japan and develop the skills to work with people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
Gain the ability to set goals and manage time and priorities and work effectively both independently and in groups.

Last updated: 2 October 2024

Structure

75 credit points

Students will have their appropriate entry point determined by the Japanese Studies program, based on evidence of prior learning and/or results of a placement test as required. Please refer to the following link for further information:

Link

The entry points for this minor are:

Japanese Studies 1 entry point: Students who have never studied Japanese before or have only rudimentary knowledge of the language usually enter the progression at Japanese 1
Japanese Studies 3 entry point: Students who have completed VCE Japanese (Second language), IB or have an equivalent language level usually enter the progression at Japanese 3
Japanese Studies 5 entry point: Students who perform at an intermediate level in Japanese, for example those who have completed VCE or IB with excellent results or have an equivalent language level usually enter the progression at Japanese 5
Japanese Studies 7 entry point: Students who perform at a advanced level in Japanese, for example those who hold N3 of JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) or have lived or studied in Japan usually enter the progression at Japanese 7
Super advanced Japanese: Students with a very advanced level of language study, including for example those who attended several years of Japanese medium school or have spent several years in a Japanese speaking environment would normally begin their study of Japanese with one of the advanced language subjects

This minor requires the completion of either:

Entry Point 1

25 credit points of EP1 Level 1 Core subjects
25 credit points of EP1 Level 2 Core subjects
25 credit points of EP1 Level 3 Core subjects

Entry Point 3

25 credit points of EP3 Level 1 Core subjects
25 credit points of EP3 Level 2 Core subjects
25 credit points of EP3 Level 3 Core subjects

Entry Point 5

25 credit points of EP5 Level 1 Core subjects
25 credit points of EP5 Level 2 Core subjects
25 credit points of EP5 Level 3 subjects

Entry Point 7

25 credit points of EP7 Level 1 Core subjects
25 credit points of EP7 Level 2 Core subjects
25 credit points of EP7 Level 3 Core subjects

Super Advanced Entry Point

25 credit points of Super Advanced Level 1 Core subjects
25 credit points of Super Advanced Level 2 Core subjects
25 credit points of Super Advanced Level 3 Core subjects

Subject Options

Japanese Studies Entry Point 1

Level 1 Core subjects - Entry Point 1

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN10001	Japanese 1	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN10002	Japanese 2	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Level 2 Core subjects - Entry Point 1

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN20007	Japanese 3	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN20008	Japanese 4	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Level 3 Core subjects - Entry Point 1

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN30007	Japanese 5	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN30008	Japanese 6	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Japanese Studies Entry Point 3

Level 1 Core subjects - Entry Point 3

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN10007	Japanese 3	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN10008	Japanese 4	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Level 2 Core subjects - Entry Point 3

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN20013	Japanese 5	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN20014	Japanese 6	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Level 3 Core subjects - Entry Point 3

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN30005	Japanese 7	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN30006	Japanese 8	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Japanese Studies Entry Point 5

Level 1 Core subjects - Entry Point 5

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN10003	Japanese 5	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN10004	Japanese 6	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Level 2 Core subjects - Entry Point 5

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN20003	Japanese 7	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN20004	Japanese 8	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Level 3 subjects - Entry Point 5

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN30004	Japanese through the Media	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN30011	Reading Japanese Literature	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN30012	Variation in Japanese Language	Summer Term (Off Campus) Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Japanese Studies Entry Point 7

Level 1 Core subjects - Entry Point 7

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN10005	Japanese 7	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN10006	Japanese 8	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Level 2 Core subjects - Entry Point 7

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN20011	Reading Japanese Literature	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN20012	Variation in Japanese Language	Summer Term (Off Campus) Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Level 3 Core subjects - Entry Point 7

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN30004	Japanese through the Media	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN30018	Global Japanese in Context	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Japanese Studies Super Advanced Entry Point

Level 1 Core subjects - Super Advanced

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN10009	Reading Japanese Literature	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN10010	Variation in Japanese Language	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Level 2 Core subjects - Super Advanced

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN20005	Contemporary Japan	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) Winter Term (Off Campus)	12.5
JAPN20018	Japanese Through the Media	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Level 3 Core subjects - Super Advanced

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
JAPN30002	Social Problems in Japan	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
JAPN30018	Global Japanese in Context	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Links

http://www.asiainstitute.unimelb.edu.au/study/japanese