Reflective Narrative
JAPN 309 was a great course that gave me valuable insight into various Japanese literature. Every week we were required to submit two journals, one for each class session, in which we would out line what we gathered from the assigned readings. We started off reading short poems and gradually started to read longer passages, such as excerpts from the Tale of Genji. One of the most valuable portions of class is when we were required to share our thoughts and feelings about particular passages. The class was filled with people from different majors, and it was very enlightening to hear the varying perspectives during class. For our midterm we were put into groups and required to choose 10 different short stories to analyze as a group. We would then present our 10 stories to the class, give a short summary, and explain what it is we thought the author was trying to convey in the text. We were assessed on not only how well we understood the chosen text, but also on how well we were able to convey our thoughts on what it meant. Perhaps the most important assignment of the class was our final essay. In this essay we were required to create an outline, a research title, and a short explanation of how we aimed to support our thesis. For my essay I chose to write about the progression of Japanese literature from the Heian period into the modern era. Through this process I was able to develop my organization skills, research capabilities, and academic writing ability.
This class really developed my critical thinking skills, and being able to get feedback from my classmates allowed me to identify areas I needed to improve upon. Takahashi Semsei was very supportive, encouraged group cohesion, and detailed the assignments very clearly so that there was no confusion. With this support I was able to gain a deep understanding of Japanese literature, history, and traditional folklore.
This class really developed my critical thinking skills, and being able to get feedback from my classmates allowed me to identify areas I needed to improve upon. Takahashi Semsei was very supportive, encouraged group cohesion, and detailed the assignments very clearly so that there was no confusion. With this support I was able to gain a deep understanding of Japanese literature, history, and traditional folklore.