Information Session

The Japanese LSA+ Information Session will be hosted by Prof. James Dorsey, the 2027 Program Director, on Tuesday, October 20, 5:30 pm in Room 314 Anonymous Hall.

About this Program

The upcoming Dartmouth Japanese LSA+ will take place over ten weeks in the summer of 2027. For the first seven weeks the program will be based at Sophia University (also known as Jōchi Daigaku) on its campus in Yotsuya, the very heart of Tokyo. In addition to being within easy reach of many landmarks of the city, the university is known for its high academic standards and its international student body. The final three weeks of the program will take place in Osaka, itself a metropolis but one located in the culturally rather different Kansai area. In both locations students will live in residence dormitories, each single-occupancy room having its own bed, desk, kitchenette, and shower/toilet. These living spaces also have common areas for cooking and studying together.

Curriculum

• ASCL | 9.XX:
  TBD (LSA+ Director's Course, taught in English)

A literature/culture seminar co-taught by the program director and a professor from the Sophia University faculty. The seminar will include both Dartmouth and Sophia students. This course will include a final independent project designed by the student in consultation with the program director.

• JAPN | 22 | 90:
  Intermediate Modern Japanese
• JAPN | 23 | 90:
  Intermediate Modern Japanese

Prerequisites

With an average grade of B or permission of the instructor in:

• ASCL | 10.03 (Offered in Spring):
  Introduction to Japanese Culture
• JAPN | 1:
  First-Year Courses in Japanese
• JAPN | 2:
  First-Year Courses in Japanese
• JAPN | 3:
  First-Year Courses in Japanese
• Participation in all orientation sessions; timely completion of all necessary paperwork.

Cultural Excursions & Immersion

The LSA+ emphasizes experiential learning outside of the classroom. The program will include many opportunities to visit sites of historical and cultural interest in both the Kantō (Tokyo and environs) and Kansai (Osaka and environs) areas. These will include museums, temples, shrines, etc. While in Tokyo, the group will also take excursions to Nikkō (Tochigi Prefecture), Nihonmatsu (Fukushima Prefecture; Nihonmatsu is Hanover’s sister city), and the Fuji Lakes region. From Osaka, the group will travel to Himeji, Hiroshima, and Nara. Cultural experiences will include such things as tea ceremony, calligraphy, udon and sushi-making workshops as well as experience some form of the martial arts, comic storytelling, and traditional drama.