Faculty Profile
Alex Bates
Associate 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
2023-2024 Academic Year
Fall 2023
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.
EASN 205 Nature & Env in Japns Fic & Fm
Cross-listed with FMST 210-01. This course explores the relationship between humanity and nature in Japanese literature and film. Though we will draw from earlier examples, the majority of the course will be focused on the modern era (post 1868). Some topics for exploration include: the role of animals in Japanese culture, nature as a reflection of the self, natural and industrial disasters, and nature in the imagination. As we move through the class, we will also work to understand and apply "ecocriticism" as an approach to cultural texts in relation to the science of ecology.
FMST 210 Nature & Env in Japns Fic & Fm
Cross-listed with EASN 205-01. This course explores the relationship between humanity and nature in Japanese literature and film. Though we will draw from earlier examples, the majority of the course will be focused on the modern era (post 1868). Some topics for exploration include: the role of animals in Japanese culture, nature as a reflection of the self, natural and industrial disasters, and nature in the imagination. As we move through the class, we will also work to understand and apply "ecocriticism" as an approach to cultural texts in relation to the science of ecology.
JPNS 361 Advanced Japanese II
The emphasis in this course is placed on polishing and refining the students' language skills. Emphasis is placed on covering more sophisticated materials such as newspapers, magazine articles, film and literature.
Prerequisite: 232 or permission of the instructor.
Spring 2024
JPNS 202 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: 201 or permission of the instructor. This course fulfills the language graduation requirement.
EASN 490 Senior Research
Leading to a senior thesis and jointly supervised by at least two faculty in the program.
