FSEM 169   Elementary Japanese I

Faculty Profile for Professor Albertson

This introduction to the Japanese language develops basic proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The course emphasizes mastery of basic Japanese grammar and vocabulary through intensive aural-oral practice. Students also learn to read and write the two kana syllabaries and about 100 kanji. In addition, short investigations and reflections will develop information literacy and help you become a more effective, culturally perceptive, and self-aware language learner. Students learn about Japanese culture through learning to use the language in context. Students who successfully complete this seminar will receive course credit for JAPN 121 and satisfy one half of the Human Thought and Expression area of inquiry requirement.

Professor Nick Albertson researches modern Japanese poetry, with special interests in gender and ecocriticism. He also teaches and studies the literature and cinema of natural and unnatural disasters, and he translates poetry and short stories from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.