Supernatural

JPN/EAS 380
The Japanese Supernatural

 

M•W 3-4:15 pm

Jeremy Robinson
robinjer@gvsu.edu
Office: D-2-136 Mackinac Hall
Office Hours: M•T•W 10-11am

Mackinac Hall A-1-181
 
 
 

 

This course makes extensive use of the university’s Blackboard online learning environment, both to distribute readings and other materials and as a forum for submitting and responding to reaction papers.   If you are not comfortable with Blackboard or have limited internet access, come talk with me as soon as possible.


Grades will be assessed as follows:
   
 

Attendance and Participation
Eight Online Reaction Papers
Fifteen Online Responses
Wiki Quotes
Midterm Exam
Research Paper
- - or - -
Final Exam

10%
8 x 5% = 40%
15 x 1% = 15%
10%
10%

15%


 

The most important thing, both to your grade and to the success of the class, is keeping up on the assigned readings and being ready and willing to discuss them in the classroom and online. I do take attendance, as well as take note of your participation in class, and these factors do affect your grade, but your grade depends on more than just your presence in the classroom. It means reading and giving thought to the assigned readings, and coming to class ready to actively discuss them. For each day’s readings, you should select a quote that you found interesting and post it to the Quotes Wiki section of Blackboard at least an hour before class begins. These quotes will contribute to shaping each day's discussion and regular contribution is what will determine your "Wiki Quotes" grade.

Throughout the semester you will also be required to post reaction papers and responses to the Blackboard online discussion board. A reaction paper should be at least 600 words (appr. two pages) long and should articulate your reaction to that day’s readings. It does not need to be a formal argumentative essay, but it should be more substantive than mere summary. It is intended to give your interpretation of the material in light of your own experience and the issues we raise in class, and should show an active engagement with the text. Remember: you aren’t expected to be an expert on the topic, just an engaged reader. Reaction papers must be posted online by midnight the night before the class in which the readings are to be discussed, in order to give your fellow students time to read them and respond before class. Late reaction papers are useless to fostering online discussion and thus will not be accepted.You may choose any of the readings to which you wish to respond, but you may not write more than one in any given week. When a film is assigned, you may also choose to write a reaction paper based on the film, but your reaction should reflect that you have also done the reading for that session as well.. Although there will be many days when you do not write a reaction paper yourself, consider other students’ reaction papers to be a part of the required reading for the class, and you should make a point of reading the other students’ reactions, and perhaps writing an online response to them, before coming to class. There is no set length for responses, but they should respond not only to the text itself, but also to the other students’ reactions and show a willingness to engage with other students’ ideas rather than relying only on one’s own interpretation. The deadline for writing a response is the beginning of each class, and you should write at least one each week, though you are encouraged to write more. If you feel more comfortable contributing in written form rather than during class discussion, extra participation in the online forums may also enhance your participation grade.

For your final project, you should choose either to write a research paper or to take the final exam. If you choose to write a research paper, it should be around ten pages long and can be on any topic, but it must go beyond the assigned readings for the course. You might choose to investigate a given theme further by reading non-assigned works from our textbooks or deal entirely with new readings, but the paper must apply what we have learned in class to non-class materials. A one-paragraph topic proposal should be turned in by the Wednesday after spring break, and your final paper is due on the same day as the final exam.  If you wish to receive feedback on your paper prior to turning in the final version, you are welcome to turn in a draft any time up to one week before the end of class (as drafts submitted after that time will not allow the professor enough time to read and comment).

There will be five required texts for this course. All are available in the bookstore or, if you prefer, the links below are to the correct edition of the text at Amazon.com. Japanese Demon Lore is available in the bookstore, but it is also available as a free pdf, the link to which is included below.

 


Michael Dylan Foster
Noriko Reider
Haruo Shirane & Burton Watson
Ueda Akinari
Enchi Fumiko

Pandemonium and Parade
Japanese Demon Lore
The Demon at Agi Bridge and Other Japanese Tales
Tales of Moonlight and Rain
Masks

Additional readings will be made available as web links or in pdf format in the “Course Materials” section of Blackboard, and are identified on the syllabus with (BB). On any given day, there may be assigned readings, poems, audio clips, or videos marked on the schedule. When films are assigned, they can be viewed either on the computers in the LRC or online via the LRC’s eVideon video server.

 

 

Fall 2012 Course Schedule

• click on any section to go to the assignments for that week •

 


Weeks 1 ~ 7

August 27th ~ October 10th

Midterm Exam • Wednesday October 10th

 


Weeks 8 ~ 15

October 15th ~ December 5th


 

••• Final Exam: Thursday, Dec. 13th, 2-3:50pm •••

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