EAJ435 (Formerly EAJ396)
MEIJI LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION
Fall 2017 Call Number 10205
T Th 2:45-4:05 p.m. Humanities 109
Instructor: Susanna Fessler
Office Hours: T TH 11:00-12:00 and by appt.
e-mail: [email protected]
Office: Humanities 243
Phone: 518-442-4119
Course Description:
This course will examine several works of Japanese prose literature written during the Meiji
Period (1868-1912). The works include an essay, novels, and short stories. Attention will be given to
the question of modernity, character development, plot structure, and other topics. Students will also
be assigned secondary reading on these works. Class format will include lectures and discussion;
preparation for class is an important part of student evaluation. All readings are in English, but students
who want to do the readings in Japanese are welcome to do so (see instructor for original texts).
Required Texts:
 In the Shade of Spring Leaves by Robert Danly
 Pagoda, Skull, and Samurai by Kōda Rohan
 Wild Goose by Mori Ōgai, translated by Burton Watson
 Japanese Gothic Tales by Izumi Kyōka, translated by Charles Shirō Inouye
 Instructor selected readings available through the Blackboard Learning System
Testing and Grading:
Students will be required to write one 10-page (3000 word) paper during the course of the
semester. Students have the option of submitting a first draft for feedback before submitting a final
draft. There will be a mid-term examination, and a final examination. Attendance will be taken
regularly; students are expected to attend class unless extenuating circumstances prevent it. There will
be intermittent, unannounced quizzes on the content of the reading. These quizzes are EASY if you
have done the reading, but IMPOSSIBLE if you have not. Missed quizzes on days when a student
DOES NOT have an excused absence CANNOT be made up.
Exams are a mixture of short answer and essay questions, and are open-book, open-note. This
does not mean the exams are easy. Rather, it means I expect more of you because you have lots of
resources at your fingertips.
I allow laptops and tablets and even smart phone use in the classroom, but ONLY for
course-related uses (taking notes, bringing up .pdf readings from ERes, etc.). If I find you are checking
Facebook or using other social media during class, I reserve the right to turn off your device and
confiscate it until the end of class.
Course grades will be based on the following criteria:
Mid-Term Examination
10-page paper
Final Examination
Quizzes
Class Attendance
20%
30%
20%
20%
10%
This syllabus is not negotiable. I agree to teach the topics listed below, and to grade you on the criteria
listed above. I consider a grade of "Incomplete" to be for emergencies (death in the family, extreme
illness, etc.), not for students who fail to plan ahead. I do not curve grades. I do not give extra credit
assignments. This course is A-E graded. My grading scale is as follows: 93-100%=A; 90-92%=A-;
87-89%=B+; 83-86%=B; 80-82%=B-; 77-79%=C+; 73-76%=C; 70-72%=C-; 67-69%=D+; 63-66%=D;
60-62%=D-; 0-59%=E.
If you want to check on your performance at any point in the semester, feel free to come to my office
and we'll run through the numbers. If there are extenuating circumstances which you anticipate will
unduly affect your grade, it is your responsibility to speak with me IN ADVANCE.
Academic Integrity: According to the Undergraduate Bulletin, “It is every student's responsibility to
become familiar with the standards of academic integrity at the University. Claims of ignorance, of
unintentional error, or of academic or personal pressures are not sufficient reasons for violations of
academic integrity.” Any incident of plagiarism, cheating, unauthorized dual submission, forgery,
sabotage, unauthorized collaboration, falsification, bribery, or theft, damage, or misuse of library
resources will be reported immediately to the Undergraduate Dean’s office, and will result in no credit
for the assignment in question.
Date
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
29
31
T
Th
5
T
7
Th
Topic
Course Introduction
Quick & Dirty History of Japanese
Fiction—what came before the Meiji?
Novels in Translation; Translated works and
the Genbun Itchi movement
Political Novels
12
T
Tsubouchi Shōyō & Futabatei Shimei
14
19
21
26
28
3
5
10
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
Th
T
Tsubouchi Shōyō & Futabatei Shimei
Tsubouchi Shōyō & Futabatei Shimei
CLASSES SUSPENDED
Tsubouchi Shōyō & Futabatei Shimei
Floating Clouds (Ukigumo)
Floating Clouds (Ukigumo)
The Ken’yūsha (Friends of the Inkstone)
Kōda Rohan
12
17
19
24
26
Th
T
Th
T
Th
MIDTERM EXAM
How to Write About Literature
Background of Higuchi Ichiyō
Higuchi Ichiyō’s short stories
Kitamura Tōkoku
31
T
Izumi Kyōka
2
Th
Naturalism
7
9
T
Th
Kunikida Doppo
Tokuda Shūsei & Masamune Hakuchō
14
16
21
T
Th
T
Tayama Katai
Tayama Katai
Nagai Kafū
23
28
Th
T
THANKSGIVING DAY – NO CLASS
Shimazaki Tōson
30
5
7
Th
T
Th
The Wild Goose
The Wild Goose
Natsume Sōseki
Reading
None
None
“The Age of Translation” (Keene)
“Kajin no Kigū” (Sakaki)
“The Meiji Political Novel” (Feldman)
“Meiji Political Novels” (Keene)
The Essence of the Novel, Introduction
and Part I
The Essence of the Novel, Part II
Ryan, Part I
Ryan, Part II
Floating Clouds, pp. 197-255
Floating Clouds, pp. 259-356
“Garakuta bunko” (Morita)
“Encounter with a Skull”
“The Bearded Samurai”
“The Five Storied Pagoda”
None
None
Danly, Part I
Danly, Part II
“Kitamura Tōkoku: The Early Years”
“Kitamura Tōkoku: Essays on the Inner
Life”
“Kitamura Tōkoku: Final Essays”
“Reading Bashō at Matsushima”
“Tōkoku at Matsushima”
Japanese Gothic Tales, pp. 1-72
First Draft of Papers Due
“Naturalism in Japanese Literature”
(Sibley)
“Five Stories by Kunikida Doppo”
“Order of the White Paulownia”
“The Town’s Dance Hall”
“The Clay Doll”
The Quilt
The Quilt
“Bill Collecting”
“The Life of a Certain Woman”; Final
Draft of Papers Due
pp. vii-77
pp. 78-166
“My Individualism”
Fall 2017 FINAL EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
(Final Exam Period: Wednesday, December 13, 2017 – Tuesday, December 19, 2017)
Important information:






Please note the use of Saturday, December 16, 2017 as a final exam day.
Eight Week Two (8W2) and semester length course examination day and time assignments are on the charts below.
Examinations are scheduled in the same room the class meets with the exception of departmental examinations and
special assignments requested by the instructor of the class (assignments to be announced in class).
Classes meeting four or five days a week must use the examination schedule for MWF class meetings.
Classes meeting Monday and Wednesday only or Wednesday and Friday only must use the examination schedule
for MWF meetings, unless otherwise designated.
Final Examinations for courses with meeting times of "ARR” should be held during the last class meeting.
If your class meets:
Your Exam Date and Time are:
If your class meets:
Your Exam Date and Time are:
MWF
8:15am
Tuesday
Dec. 19th
1:00pm – 3:00pm
T TH
8:45am
Friday
Dec. 15th
3:30pm – 5:30pm
MWF
9:20am
Wednesday
Dec. 13th
3:30pm – 5:30pm
T TH
10:15am
Friday
Dec. 15th
10:30am – 12:30pm
MWF
10:25am
Thursday
Dec. 14th
3:30pm – 5:30pm
T TH
11:45am
Saturday
Dec. 16th
10:30am – 12:30pm
MWF
11:30am
Monday
Dec. 18th
3:30pm – 5:30pm
T TH
1:15pm
Wednesday
Dec. 13th
10:30am – 12:30pm
MWF
12:35pm
Monday
Dec. 18th
8:00am – 10:00am
T TH
2:45pm
Thursday
Dec. 14th
10:30am – 12:30pm
MWF
1:40pm
Tuesday
Dec. 19th
8:00am – 10:00am
T TH
4:15pm
Monday
Dec. 18th
1:00pm – 3:00pm
16th
19th
5:45pm – 7:45pm
3:30pm – 5:30pm
T TH
5:45pm
Tuesday
Dec.
Dec. 18th
10:30am – 12:30pm
T TH
7:15pm
Tuesday
Dec. 19th
8:00pm – 10:00pm
Monday
Dec. 18th
5:45pm – 7:45pm
T
2:45pm
Thursday
Dec. 14th
10:30am – 12:30pm
7:15pm
Monday
Dec. 18th
8:00pm – 10:00pm
T
4:15pm
Tuesday
Dec. 19th
5:45pm – 7:45pm
M
2:45pm
Saturday
Dec. 16th
3:30pm – 5:30pm
T
5:45pm
Tuesday
Dec. 19th
5:45pm – 7:45pm
M
4:15pm
Monday
Dec. 18th
5:45pm – 7:45pm
T
7:15pm
Tuesday
Dec. 19th
8:00pm – 10:00pm
M
5:45pm
Monday
Dec. 18th
5:45pm – 7:45pm
TH
2:45pm
Monday
Dec. 18th
1:00pm – 3:00pm
M
7:15pm
Monday
Dec. 18th
8:00pm – 10:00pm
TH
4:15pm
Thursday
Dec. 14th
5:45pm – 7:45pm
W
2:45pm
Tuesday
Dec. 19th
10:30am – 12:30pm
TH
5:45pm
Thursday
Dec. 14th
5:45pm – 7:45pm
W
4:15pm
Wednesday
Dec. 13th
5:45pm –7:45pm
TH
7:15pm
Thursday
Dec. 14th
8:00pm – 10:00pm
Wednesday
Dec.
13th
5:45pm –7:45pm
13th
8:00pm –10:00pm
MW
2:45pm
Saturday
Dec.
MW
4:15pm
Monday
MW
5:45pm
MW
W
5:45pm
W
7:15pm
Wednesday
Dec.
F
2:45pm
Friday
Dec. 15th
5:45pm – 7:45pm
F
4:15pm
Friday
Dec. 15th
5:45pm – 7:45pm
DEPARTMENTAL EXAMINATIONS:
Wed – Dec. 13th
Wed – Dec. 13th
Thurs –Dec. 14th
8:00am-10:00am
1:00pm-3:00pm
8:00am-10:00am
(Examination days, times and rooms to be announced in October)
Thurs- Dec.14th
Fri – Dec. 15th
Fri – Dec. 15th
1:00pm-3:00pm
8:00am-10:00am
1:00pm-3:00pm
Sat - Dec. 16th
Sat - Dec. 16th
8:00am-10:00am
1:00pm-3:00pm