Soc 350 STUDY GUIDE FOR FINAL
DIRECTIONS. The exam will cover the material listed in the syllabus since the beginning of the class, assigned readings and lectures. BRING BLUE BOOK and scantron. You will also be responsible for the terms relating to the traditional arts.
SECTION I. This section will consist of a variety of questions (true/false, multiple choice, etc.) based on the assigned readings, class lecture and films.
SECTION II. This section will consists of matching and identification questions based on terms listed in the syllabus and from the readings and lectures listed below. By identification you will be expected to know the Japanese word, describe it and indicate its significance.
Nihonjinron, Buddhism, kanzen/choaku, Noh, Shinto, makoto, ema, matsuri, nawa, kami, omairi, jinja, omamori, kannushi, kegare, kokutai, burakumin, miko, bushido (bushi), ianfu, jumin hyo, kyuuda toosoo, hibakusha, hantojin, kansha
SECTION III. This section will be an essay taken from the questions provided below based on the readings and lectures.
1. "Though Shinto as an actively held set of beliefs is moribund in today's Japan, it has undeniably had a profound effect on the way Japanese view the natural world. And its influence in that respect has been reinforced by Buddhism, which sees the entire universe--animal, vegetable and mineral--as one." The Japanese world view as indicated above differs significantly from the Western view which looks to a transcendent God and an after life. Discuss the impact of the Shinto and Confucian world view on Japanese culture. Give examples.
2. What is the Japanese literary view of human nature, as presented in John C. Pelzel’s article “Human Nature in Japanese Myth?” What is the view of man, the context (nature of the world) and mankind’s role in it? Provide examples.
3. Discuss the ways in which social definitions of family membership, treaties and immigration laws have been used to control the Koreans in Japan.
4. According to Chin Sung Chung, the issue of the comfort women did not become public until 50 years after the defeat of the Japanese. What factors suppressed recognition of the problem? Has the Japanese government accepted responsibility for the problem? How were women recruited? How were they treated and what happened to them at the end of the war? What are the current efforts being made on their behalf?
5. What is the source of the Buraku community? What are the justifications given for their exclusion from Japanese social life? How did the Buraku Liberation Leagues’s kyuuda toosoo tactics differ from the approaches of other groups to make social change? What is the current situation for the community as discussed in the Weiners book?
6. Although there have been periods of change and conflict, Japanese society has been depicted as an harmonious society. Discuss group conflict in Japan in terms of location (where conflict is likely to arise) and management (ways to avoid or ameliorate conflict) between distinct groups in Japanese society.
7. Discuss the role of the Emperor in Japanese society.