A project-based course that looks behind the Japanese social mask to understand how Japanese people build relationships, community, and lives worth living. Covers modes of thinking and communicating, negotiating, and decision making; ethical systems; the central role of social status and hierarchical relationships; patterns of making friends and influencing others; psychological factors such as dependence and duty; and the Japanese aesthetics and ideology.
This classes was centered around readings that would then indicate the discussion for the day. In the beginning of each class we had quizzes based on the readings that were due that day. In the classroom we were put into groups composed of Japanese exchange students and non Japanese majors. This was done so that we would have a better understanding by first hand experiences and so that we could compare our different cultures. In addition to this we also viewed videos that further explained the topics that we discussed in class. One of the projects in the class was a group presentation based on any topic that had been introduced in class. With this project we were able to further understand the concepts and explain and present them to the class. We were also assigned a ten-page final paper in which we were able to further research a concept of the Japanese Mind.