Course Description - As the drive to rebuild modern Japan after WWII slowed, latent and new social problems have become visible. This course offers interdisciplinary perspectives on issues such as care of the elderly and homeless, equal treatment of minorities, gender and labor issues, domestic and world ecological concerns, and relevant institutions that promote or attack prejudice towards heterogeneous social groups. Taught in English.
Reflective Narrative:
JAPN 311: Social Issues in Japan taught by Doctor Dustin Wright covers MLO 4: Secondary Cultures Other than Hispanic Cultures. Being a Spanish major, we must step outside for a bit when it comes to our language. Many of the assignments for this course revolve around discussions in which we state what we think about certain social issues in Japan. In addition, we watched several videos and movies that either talk about Japanese culture or show it through different means of expression. Moreover, we wrote essays regarding the topics at hand. Through this course, I began to understand more about culture in general. Trying to compare my own Mexican background to that of a Japanese citizen has been very enlightening. It allows me to see the differences in values, like how in Japanese culture being independent when living is common, but for Mexican culture we live with our parents till the very end of their lives. I wish to develop further in understanding why Japan continues to deprive itself of familial bonds. Creating even laws to ensure that families are separated not because of personal issues, but because of their individual income. JAPN 311 covers similar topics of culture like my SPAN 306 in which we studied the culture of Spanish Latin America, and SPAN 308 where we studied about Aztlan, Mexican territories that were taken by the United States in the southwest part of the nation. To further expand my knowledge about this subject, I must look more into Japanese culture. Maybe ask some individuals who live in Japan and see which parts of their culture they like the most and which parts they like the least.
Assignment:
Major Learning Outcome Fulfillment: