The Japanese culture is undoubtedly a major attraction to those who seek to learn the language. Japanese food, such as sushi and ramen, has become a popular choice among New Yorkers. Most college students in the U.S. have played Japanese video games in their youth (or even now) and have gone to karaoke to hang out with their friends.
Pop-culture, including anime and TV drama, is another major interest among Japanese language learners. In addition to these contemporary culture, Japan has rich traditions and classical literature, such as karate and judo (Japanese martial arts), The Tale of Genji (classical novel written in the 11th century), and nihonga (classic Japanese fine art) to name a few.
The goal of the Japanese Option is to develop your interests and prior knowledge in Japan for professional careers. We will deal with Japanese language/culture in a serious approach (beyond casual interest in Japanese pop culture and anime). Those who are interested in the Japanese Option should try reading some of the reference books listed below to identify if you are really interested in pursuing Japanese as your future career option.
- Japanese Language/Linguistics: Tsujimura, N. (2014). An Introduction to Japanese Linguistics. Cambridge, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell. (ISBN: 9781444337730)
- Japanese Pop Culture (anime, manga, J-pop etc): Drazen, P. (2002). Anime Explosion! The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation. Stone Bridge Press. (ISBN: 9781880656723)
- The History of Japan: Mason, R. H. P. & Caiger, J. G. (1997). A History of Japan. Tokyo, Japan: Tuttle Publishing. (ISBN: 9780804820974)
- Economics/Business in Japan: Liker, J. and Convis, G. (2011). The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership: Achieving and Sustaining Excellence through Leadership (ISBN: 9780071780797)
- Sociology of Japan (The Japanese people, the Japanese society etc): Sugimoto, Y. (2003). An Introduction to Japanese Society. Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press.