CLASSIC JAPANESE LITERATURE

This is one of the characterizing subjects within the "Japan" curriculum of the graduate course in "Lingue e Culture dell'Asia e dell'Africa Mediterranea".
The course contributes to the attainment of the teaching goals of the graduate course in the area of language skills and includes also the more specific goals of the cultural and humanities areas.
The main objectives of the course are: 1) to acquire a foundational knowledge of Japanese premodern literature’s genres, literary techniques, and historical development; 2) to develop critical thinking skills through textual, historical, and socio-cultural analysis, through a variety of activities including close reading, class discussion, and longer written analyses; 3) to gain competencies in situating literature in its socio-cultural, political, ideological,
and historical context, and in critically assessing the relationship between works of literature produced in different periods; 4) to acquire useful tools to conduct bibliographic research and work independently on different topics of Japanese premodern literature ; 5) to learn how to write an academic essay.

Knowledge and understanding:
- to know and understand the main authors and works of Japanese premodern literature
- to know and understand concepts and tools from the fields of literary criticism and historiography
- to deepen the knowledge and understanding of historical contexts through the analysis of literary texts
- to know useful tools to conduct independently bibliographic research

Applying knowledge and understanding:
- to analyze and interpret literary texts by using concepts and tools from the fields of literary criticism and historiography
- to critically apply concepts from literary historiography to the historical period studied in the course
- to use bibliographic references in different languages (included Japanese)
- to conduct new and interdisciplinary researches

Making judgements:
- to produce critical judgments on the textual and historical-literary phenomena that are part of the program
- to subject various types of sources (academic and creative texts) to critical examination
- to develop original and innovative theories on the topics introduced during the lessons

Communication:
- to express one's opinion in an effective way
- to re-elaborate and express in an effective way the opinions of other people
- to write independently an academic essays on Japanese premodern literature
- to analyze and translate texts written in Classical Japanese

Lifelong learning skills:
- to know how to conduct bibliographic research
- to know how to critically integrate the study of different materials (notes, slides, manuals, creative texts, academic articles)
- to be able to read and re-elaborate in a synthetic way materials written in different languages
- to refine one's ability to use the online teaching platform
- to know how to write an academic essay in an effective way

A solid knowledge of Japanese political and social history from the X to XII century. Good command of classical and modern Japanese.

This course examines the possibility of interpreting The Makura no sōshi, (The Pillow Book, 11th century) as a guide for the sociality of aristocratic women in the eleventh century Japan. Through a close readings of this work, now recognized as a masterpiece of world literature, we will explore some topics related to sociality dynamics– such as education, courtship, etiquette and beauty routines– offering insight into the lives of high-ranking woman, whose position at court could easily be threatened by younger rivals of higher status or greater fertility.
Students will be expected to develop translation skills (especially from modern and classical Japanese) and refine their ability to apply philological and critical arguments to selected passages of The Makura no sōshi. They will also learn how to conduct bibliographic research and how to write a brief academic essay on the topics discussed in the class. To this end, the instructor will explain how to use various databases and websites of national and international libraries. The instructor will also guide students through the gradual process of writing academic essays and to the correct application of editorial guidelines.

- Fukumori, Naomi (1997). "Sei Shōnagon's Makura no sōshi. A Re-Visionary History". The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese 31 (1), pp. 1-44.
- Gergana, Ivanova (2018). Unbinding the Pillow Book. The Many Lives of a Japanese Classic. New York: Columbia University Press.
- Gergana, Ivanova (2021). “’In Spring, the Dawn’: Redeeming The Pillow Book Through Manga”, Journal of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese, 55 (1), pp. 243-273.
- Kawamura, Yūko (2005). Koten no naka no joseitachi. Ōchō seikatsu no kiso chishiki. Kadokawa sensho 372. Tokyo: Kadokawa.
- Matsuo, Satoshi and Nagai, Kazuko (eds.). (1997). Makura no sōshi, Shinpen nihon koten bungaku zenshū 18, Tokyo: Shōgakukan.
- McKinney, Meredith (2006). Sei Shōnagon. The Pillow Book. London: Penguin.
- Mostow, Joshua (2001). "Mother Tongue and Father Script. The Relationship of Sei Shōnagon and Murasaki Shikibu to their Fathers and Chinese Letters". Copeland, Rebecca; L. Esperanza, Ramirez -Christensen (eds). The Father - Daughter Plot. Japanese Literary Women and the Law of the Father. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, pp. 115-42.
- Negri, Carolina (2024). "Sei Shōnagon's Makura no sōshi. A Guide for Women’s Sociality in XI Century Japan". Kervan 28/2, pp. 423-442.
- Sarra, Edith (1999). Fiction of Femininity. Literary Invention of Gender in Japanese Court Women's Memoirs. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
- Toriimoto, Yukiyo. (2023). Murasaki Shikibu to Sei Shōnagon ga kataru Heian joshi no kurashi. Tokyo: Shunjūsha.
- Tzvetana, Kristeva (1994). "The Pillow Hook. The Pillow Book as an Open work". Japan Review 5, pp. 15-54.
- Yamaguchi, Nakami (2008). Sura sura yomeru Makura no sōshi. Tokyo: Kōdansha.

* Teacher will provide texts of Makura no sōshi in Classical Japanese.

The achievement of the objectives of the course will be verified as follows:
a) Evaluation of a short essay (max 3000 words, 50% of the final mark) focusing on the analysis of one of the topics discussed during the class. The essay submitted one week before the oral exam will be graded considering the following three aspects: 1) quality and completeness of bibliography (including also references in Japanese); 2) clarity of presentation and ability to organize an organic and coherent critical analysis; 3) accuracy in writing bibliographic references.
b) Evaluation of an interview (50% of the final mark). The Interview (about 30 minutes) includes 3 parts: 1) discussion on the essay submitted; 2) critical discussion on the contents of 2 articles / chapters included in the "referral texts"; 3) translation and analysis of one quotation from a work written in classical Japanese introduced during the class.

written and oral

Regarding the grading scale, scores will be assigned according to the following criteria:
A. Scores in the 18-22 range will be awarded for a sufficient knowledge of the authors of Japanese Classical literature introduced in class and a sufficient ability to perform critical and philological analysis of the selected texts.
B. Scores in the 23-26 range will be awarded for a fair knowledge of the authors of Japanese Classical literature introduced in class and a fair ability to perform critical and philological analysis of the selected texts.
C. Scores in the 27-30 range will be awarded for a good or excellent knowledge of the authors of Japanese Classical literature introduced in class and a good or excellent ability to perform critical and philological analysis of the selected texts.
D. Honors will be awarded for an outstanding knowledge of the authors of Japanese Classical literature introduced in class and an outstanding ability to perform critical and philological analysis of the selected texts.

Frontal Lessons with Power Point presentations

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Climate change and energy" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development