Admission requirements
The course is open to students of Japanstudies programme only. Admission to BA3 seminar of each of the 5 clusters is granted following the procedure outlined below:
1) By the last day of May prior to their BA3 year, students must submit to the coordinator of the single cluster of their choice (a) a copy of their academic transcripts and (b) a motivation letter for entry into that cluster’s BA3 courses and thesis seminar; ideas/plans for a thesis project are welcome but not necessary © a second choice of cluster in case they do not get their first choice. Students can only apply to one cluster. Students who fail to submit by the deadline will be assigned to remaining open slots in clusters following the assignment of all students who submitted on time.
2) In clusters in which the number of applicants who submit by the deadline exceeds the number of available slots, students will be selected among applicants on the basis of their grades and their motivation letter.
3) Students not admitted to the cluster of their choice will be placed in the cluster of second choice to the extent that this is still possible. Final decision over the cluster assignment remains with the clusters.
4) Students will be notified of their admission by the end of June.
Description
Arts and Media Cluster
All images that we have of Japan, and therefore most of our ideas of what Japan is, belong to the realm of arts and media. From yaoi manga to ukiyo-e prints and from eleventh-century Tale of Genji to contemporary cinema, from design of every-day objects and fashion to objects designated as “national treasures”: Japan offers a wide variety of presentations and representations of itself. What do these images represent? Who created them and for what purpose? How can we understand these images and narratives? How to find specific context knowledge and how to ask rewarding questions? The Arts and Media cluster organizes its teaching around these issues. Throughout their degree trajectory the Arts and Media cluster provides students with courses that combine the evaluation of concrete case studies with increasing familiarity with different approaches to these materials. The cluster focuses on visual studies and literature and film studies. It connects the study of the visual and textual culture across the humanities, social sciences and arts. It deals with material objects as well as imagining. In this way students will learn ways to ‘read’ art, visual objects, stories and images and familiarize themselves with exciting and important ways of interpretation of objects and cultures, which produce them.
Potential thesis topics have to do with:
visual culture; high arts (such as painting, prints, sculpture, architecture) and popular culture
literature (classical and modern)
film
Course objectives
Ability to articulate a research question based on original research
Ability to search for and locate primary and secondary materials for research paper
Ability to review existing literature on a given topic, identify main authors and arguments, and structure a literature review.
Ability to develop an argument and structure a paper based on individual research.
Ability to identify and follow disciplinary conventions in citation, analysis, use of sources, and structure of a research paper
Ability to critically assess research papers of other students and offer constructive feedback
Ability to structure a presentation, and effectively present orally on academic topics
Timetable
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Course Load
Total course load for this course is 140 hours – Hours spent on attending seminars (eg 2 hours per week x 13 weeks =) 26 hours
Time for studying the compulsory literature (as a possible criterion approx. 7 pages per hour with deviations up and down depending on the material to be studied) (if applicable) time for completing assignments, whether in preparation at the college – Time to write a paper (including reading / research)
Assessment method
Participation element (attendance, webpostings, active participation, presentation): 50%
Paper (2,500-3,000 words): 50%
Het eindcijfer voor het onderdeel is het gewogen gemiddelde van de uitslagen voor de deeltoetsen, met dien verstande dat het onderdeel alleen voldoende kan zijn wanneer de student voor alle deeltoetsen een voldoende heeft behaald. Indien een of meer van de deeltoetsen onvoldoende zijn, ontvangt de student een onvoldoende (onv.) als uitslag voor het gehele onderdeel.
Blackboard
Yes
Reading list
To follow
Registration
only through the cluster application form – only Japanstudies students
Remarks
This course should be taken together with the corresponding BA3 Text Seminar offered by the same cluster.