Faculty Profile
Alex Bates
Associate Professor of Japanese Language and Literature (2006)
Contact Information
Stern Center for Global Educ Room 009
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
2017-2018 Academic Year
Fall 2017
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 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 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 2018
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 203 Murakami, Manga and More
Cross-listed with ENGL 222-05.Murakami Haruki is one of the world’s most popular literary authors, and is regularly given high odds to win the Nobel Prize in literature. His success, along with the spread of Japanese popular culture in the form of manga and anime, has led to many recent works of Japanese fiction being available in translation. This course critically examines short stories, manga, and novels by many different contemporary authors and creators alongside theories of translation and gender. One author we will be reading deserves special attention: Tawada Yōko, a world-famous author, who will be visiting campus in March.
ENGL 222 Murakami, Manga and More
Cross-listed with EASN 203-01.Murakami Haruki is one of the world’s most popular literary authors, and is regularly given high odds to win the Nobel Prize in literature. His success, along with the spread of Japanese popular culture in the form of manga and anime, has led to many recent works of Japanese fiction being available in translation. This course critically examines short stories, manga, and novels by many different contemporary authors and creators alongside theories of translation and gender. One author we will be reading deserves special attention: Tawada Yōko, a world-famous author, who will be visiting campus in March.
EASN 490 Senior Research
Summer 2018
EASN 208 Japan Practicum
Offered in Japan. An intensive in-country introduction to Japanese culture and society. The course is particularly suited to students who have not had a chance to take two years of Japanese language instruction and/or are not able to take advantage of the College's semester or year-long program in Japan. The course will introduce students to various aspects of Japanese society and culture and will link classroom study to outside-the-classroom and on-site experiences. The latter will include academic excursions to places of historical and cultural interest as well as to institutions like factories, schools, businesses, community organizations, and recreation areas that exemplify contemporary Japanese life. Course content will vary with the particular expertise and interests of the instructor(s) and curricular needs.
