Faculty Profile
Alex Bates
Professor of Japanese Language and Literature (2006)
Contact Information
Stern Center for Global Educ Room 105E
717-245-1127
Bio
Professor Bates is a specialist in modern Japanese literature and film. In addition to survey courses in these areas, he has taught courses in Japanese youth culture, war in fiction and film, ecocriticism, East Asian film, and cinematic adaptations of Japanese literature. Professor Bates's book on representations of the 1923 earthquake that destroyed Tokyo was published by the University of Michigan, Center for Japanese Studies Press in 2015. His research in this area has continued into other natural disasters in modern Japanese culture, including Japan's 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster. Other research interests include ecocriticism, urban modernism, and early post-war Japanese literature and film.
Education
- B.A., Brigham Young University, 1998
- M.A., University of Michigan, 2001
- Ph.D., 2006
2025-2026 Academic Year
Fall 2025
FYSM 100 First-Year Seminar
The First-Year Seminar (FYS) introduces students to Dickinson as a "community of inquiry" by developing habits of mind essential to liberal learning. Through the study of a compelling issue or broad topic chosen by their faculty member, students will:
- Critically analyze information and ideas
- Examine issues from multiple perspectives
- Discuss, debate and defend ideas, including one's own views, with clarity and reason
- Develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information, and
- Create clear academic writing
The small group seminar format of this course promotes discussion and interaction among students and their professor. In addition, the professor serves as students' initial academic advisor. This course does not duplicate in content any other course in the curriculum and may not be used to fulfill any other graduation requirement.
JPNS 201 Intermediate Japanese
The aim of this course is the mastery of the basic structure of Japanese language and communicative skills. The student will have an opportunity to get to know more of Japanese culture.
Prerequisite: 102 or permission of the instructor.
JPNS 360 Literature and Translation
This course focuses on continuing to develop students' Japanese proficiency to an "advanced low" level on the ACTFL proficiency scale. Potential topics may include current events and/or prominent literary and historical texts of the 20th and 21st centuries. Class sessions will be based on written and oral discussion of the texts in Japanese, along with in-class reading and translation in order to facilitate comprehension. Throughout the semester, students will also complete a range of related writing, presentation, and translation assignments to further enhance their Japanese language skills. Prerequisite: 232 or permission of the instructor.