BA Sociology and Japanese

Residence abroad support

We offer dedicated financial support packages of up to £2,000 for residence abroad students, based on household income.

You will be automatically assessed for this, based on your Student Finance financial assessment - you just need to make sure you apply for a financial assessment in the academic year in which your residence abroad will take place.

RWS Brode Scholarship

You may be eligible for this scholarship if you fulfill the following conditions:

• your qualifications were achieved at a state-funded school in the UK;
• your total household income does not exceed £60,000 (as verified by the Student Loan Company);
• you achieve high marks in your A-levels (or equivalent qualifications), usually AAB or above;
• you apply to (and remain on) either a single honours Language course, or a dual-language course.

Awards will be made according to a sliding scale, benefitting those who have achieved the highest marks relative to backgrounds.

You will be automatically assessed for this after you have registered on your degree.

You simply need to make sure you allow the University access to your records when applying for your student lLoan (we cannot otherwise assess your eligibility).

Bursaries and Scholarships

• Find out more from student finance
• Eligible UK students can apply for bursaries and scholarships
• Funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages
• Many students work part-time or complete a student internship

This course will provide a broad investigation into social inequality with a specific focus on how race, class, and gender intersect in contemporary Japan and South Korea. By tracing the rapid social and economic development of Japanese and Korean societies, this course places the Japanese and Korean experiences in the Asian and global context and illuminates various social problems these societies face today. Within Japan and South Korea, we will examine the role that differences in cities, race, gender, and social class played in their 20th and 21st century. Through our reading, lecture, and class discussion, we seek answers to the questions that motivate academic inquiries into inequality in the two East Asian societies: who gets what? Who is included and excluded? Does culture contribute to inequality? How and why? Should/can inequality be addressed?

Upon completion of the course, participants should:

• Develop familiarity with and critical understanding of classic debates and recent developments related to social inequality in Japan and South Korea.
• Learn to appreciate and apply sociological insight in understanding social structure and processes in general and East Asia in particular.
• Be able to write and speak about these ideas effectively.

This syllabus provides representative examples of the topics covered. Please note that the exact topics covered and their order may change.
Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: Ideas of Class
Week 3: The Making and Unmaking of the Middle Class
Week 4: Working Class and Precariat
Week 5: Growing Up Unequal
Week 6: READING WEEK
Week 7: Psychological and Cultural Sources of Gender Discrimination
Week 8: Gender Inequality at Home and Workplace
Week 9: Politics of Gender Backlash
Week 10: Racism – Then and Now
Week 11: Migration and Society’s Responses
Week 12: Why Race, Class and Gender Matter

• Three weekly hours in the class (two hours lecture, one hour seminar) for 11 weeks.
   
• Two consultation hours per week.
   
• Further consultation on demand.

Students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of major aspects of inequality in modern Japan and South Korea.
• Demonstrate critical understanding of key concepts of race, gender, and social class, especially as they apply to Japan and South Korea.
   

Students should be able to:

• Articulate critical analysis of social inequality with special reference to Japan and South Korea.
• Engage in critical reading and discussion of academic writing on social inequality in modern societies, with special reference to Japan and South Korea.

Students should be able to:

• Use library, electronic, and online resources.
• Organise notes derived from lectures, seminars, and reading.

Students should be able to:

• Demonstrate their skills in reasoned presentation, discussion and argument
• Develop personal qualities of independence of mind in order to make ethical judgments.
  Confront their own values as global citizens.

Formative Assessment

Formative Assessment Task	Length	How and when feedback is provided	Expected outcome of formative assessment
Essay outline	300 words	In writing, within 15 working days of submission.	Better understanding by students of how to write essay, leading to improved completion of summative essay task.

 

Summative Assessment

Summative Assessment Task	Length	How and when feedback is provided	Weighting within unit	ILOS assessed
Discussion questions submitted before class	500 words	Oral feedback in class, written feedback within 15 working days of submission	10%	KU2, IS2, PS1
Essay	2,000 words	Written feedback within 15 working days of completion.	50%	KU1, KU2, IS1, IS2, PS1, TS1, TS2, TS3
Final Exam	1,500 words	Written feedback by stipulated marking deadline.	40%	KU1, KU2, IS1, IS2, PS1, TS1, TS2, TS3

 

Re-sit Assessment

Re-sit Assessment Task	Length	How and when feedback is provided	Weighting	ILO's assessed
Essay	2,500 words	Written feedback by stipulated marking deadline.	Dependent upon assessment	KU1, KU2, IS1, IS2, PS1, TS1, TS2, TS3

Assessment Task	Feedback method
Essay outline	In writing, within 15 working days of submission.
Discussion questions submitted before class	Oral feedback in class, written feedback within 15 working days of submission.
Two timed quizzes	Written feedback within 15 working days of completion.
Essay	Written feedback within 15 working days of completion.
Final Exam	Written feedback by stipulated marking deadline.

• Ishida, Hiroshi, and David H. Slater, eds. 2010. Social Class in Contemporary Japan: Structures, Sorting and Strategies. London and New York: Routledge.
• Chiavacci, David, and Carola Hommerich, eds. 2016. Social Inequality in Post-Growth Japan: Transformation during Economic and Demographic Stagnation. London and New York: Routledge.
• Gordon, Andrew. 2019. A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Recommend Part 4, in particular.