General comment for all courses

In most cases, students who try to enroll in courses I frequently teach that have limited enrollment opportunities are first placed on a waitlist, even when there is considerable space still in the course.

If you are on the waitlist your best strategy is a) to attend the first sessions of the class and b) to state your interest in the course in an email to me using the keyword "enrollmentissue" (no spaces used—see the sidebar for how to email me). You can also email me and, if I have time, I can give you a sense of my intentions for that particular class (not for you as an individual but the general size of the class and so on.) You can try talking to me after that first class but as a practical matter I do not always remember our conversation since there are quite a few random things going on after class during those first few sessions. Just talking to me is risky; talking with me and following up with an email is much better. Use the keyword, above.

I try to rapidly determine the final enrollment of a class and can probably give you a "sense" of your status after the first two or so sessions of the course. However, since I work with the department on this it can take up to two weeks to settle all issues. In most cases whether or not you are a major, intended major or minor is very important, and when you will be graduating is important. However, beyond this there can be a wide variety of individual factors which I give due consideration. In some of my classes Jan Johnson makes most of the choices, but in communication with me. In other classes I like to take the lead.

J155

Is this course a good fit for you?

For most this is a major requirement and so there is little choice :-) However, it may be the case that others will teach this class, although this has not bee true for several years.

The key component is whether you are concurrently enrolled, or have finished J100A (although, when taught in the Spring the requirement is J100B). If your reading skills are weak, this is a difficult class.

Next on the list, but less importance, is a willingness to think about Japanese as literature, not as a language exercise. Some students do poorly because they are good at prepping the language, as if it were a 4th-year or 5th-year language class with the class material being literature, but they are not good at thinking about the works as artistic performances. We look at rhythm and such, to explore the artistic facet of the texts.

Also on the list, but still further down, is whether you are a native speaker of Japanese looking for an "easy" class. You will find that your language ability will of course reduce that part of preparation but that my expectation is, then, that you excel in other areas, with the time you saved from simple language prep. Most of the non-native speakers how found the class to be challenging. Some nevertheless like it, though.

(last updated: 4-Dec-2011)

Access to course details

If you are trying to find out about a course that is being taught now, or will be taught within a couple of weeks, try going to the Announcements Page for access to the course schedule, syllabus and so on. Otherwise, use this link to get a sense for the course's structure: J155 Fall 2010.

(last updated: 4-Dec-2011)

If waitlisted or unable to get onto a waitlist ...

This class has not been overfull in the past. I would not expect any waitlist issues.

(last updated: 4-Dec-2011)