Registration Guide: Japanese Language & Literature

As your first course, you should enroll in CAS XL 100 Leaving Home: Explorations in World Literature (offered fall semesters only). This seminar is required of all majors within the department of World Languages & Literatures. The course description explains: Growing up. Moving to the big city. Wisdom quest. Immigration. Tourism. How have the world’s great literatures portrayed and shaped these experiences? How have literary works themselves found new worlds through translation and adaptation?

• If taken at BU, CAS XL 100 fulfills a single requirement in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.

As your second course, you should choose to take one of your mandatory Japanese language courses:

• If you are studying Japanese for the first time, register for CAS LJ 111 Japanese 1.
• If you have advanced or external credit for CAS LJ 212, you may register for one of the following: CAS LJ 303 Third-Year Modern Japanese 1, CAS LJ 314 Classical Chinese 1 for Students of East Asia, or CAS LJ 320 Conversational Japanese.
• If you have previously studied Japanese but do not have advanced or external credit for LJ 212, you will need to take the Japanese placement exam. You’ll likely be placed in one of the following: CAS LJ 112 Japanese 2, CAS LJ 211 Japanese 3, CAS LJ 212 Japanese 4, or a 300-level LJ course (as listed in the above bullet-point).

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CAS LJ 250 Masterpieces of Japanese Literatures (in English translation) (offered fall semesters): An introduction to Japanese literary history. Topics include mythic beginnings, conceptions of nature and death, flowering of a court aesthetic, the writer as hermit-sage, the Tokugawa stage and its love suicides. Use of literary and visual materials.

• If taken at BU, CAS LJ 250 fulfills a single requirement in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. 

Course of Interest: Select a course that interests you – perhaps based on subjects you’ve enjoyed in the past or a new subject you’re excited to try for the first time! If you’re not sure where to start, you can review our Registration Instructions for tips on browsing by topic or Hub requirement.

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CAS CC111: Core Natural Science 1: Origins—of the Big Bang, Earth, Life and Humanity (offered fall only): The origins of the physical world, a scientific parallel to CC 101. Explores how the fields of astronomy, earth science, biology, and anthropology help us to understand our place in the cosmos from a scientific perspective. Topics include the Big Bang, evolution of the stars and earth, evolution of life, and the origins of human life and society. Assignments include computer-based and experimental laboratory work as well as team-based investigation and original research.

This course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Quantitative Reasoning I, Teamwork/Collaboration.

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CAS CC 212: Core Natural Science 2: Science, Reality, and the Modern World (offered spring only): Studies the paradigm-shifting scientific theories of quantum theory and relativity that created a new world view and forced the 20th century into a new understanding of our relation to reality. Students parallel these theories with current debates about science, such as those concerning climate change and the phenomenon of “junk science.” Considers the role of science in the modern world, how we know what we know, the roles of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle and chaos theory, and the nature of truth in a 21st century context.

This course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following Hub areas:  Scientific Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning II, Critical Thinking.

Your fourth course should be a writing course:

• If you did not apply to BU with a TOEFL/IELTS score, you can take either:
  • CAS WR 120 First-Year Writing Seminar. Each section of WR 120 focuses on a specific topic/theme, so you should register for a section that pairs with your interests.
  • CAS CC 101 Core Humanities 1: Ancient Worlds: (offered fall only): An interdisciplinary study of the origins of civilization, from Mesopotamia and the Hebrew Bible to the development of Greek civilization through Homer, Greek tragedy, and the philosophy of Plato. You should enroll in CAS CC 101 if you are considering the Core Curriculum. This course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, First-Year Writing Seminar, Creativity/Innovation

• If you applied to BU with a TOEFL/IELTS score, you should take the Multilingual Writer Placement (instructions will be sent via email) before you register for a writing course. The writing placement is a suggestion, but it will help you make an informed decision about the most appropriate level for you. Depending on what level WR course you register for, you will fulfill the following Hub requirements:
  • CAS WR 111 Academic Writing for ESL Students 1 – fulfills The Individual in Community Hub
  • CAS WR 112 Academic Writing for ESL Students 2 – fulfills Global Citizenship & Intercultural Literacy Hub
  • CAS WR 120 First-Year Writing Seminar – fulfills First-Year Writing Seminar Hub (If you place into WR 120, you are welcome to take CC 101 Core Humanities 1 instead to fulfill your FYW Hub.)

First-Year Seminar: FY 101 (offered fall only, 1 unit) – Optional

FY101 is a one-unit course that serves as a semester-long introduction to BU and college life. Each section is co-taught by a BU staff member alongside a BU student.  You will meet with a small community of other incoming students who will serve as conversation partners as together you learn how to leverage BU’s resources to create a more successful and meaningful college experience. Through discussions, activities, class field trips and program-wide events, you will make immediate connections with the BU community. Specialty sections are available for natural science majors, social science majors, computer science and math majors, undeclared students and first-generation college students. There are many sections available for all CAS students, too.

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First-Year Career Development Seminar: FY 102 (offered spring only, 1 unit) – Optional

FY102 will help first-year students get started on utilizing the Career Development Cycle to maximize their time at BU. During this course students will create a plan of action towards choosing a major, creating a resume, finding an internship, and preparing for a career that they will love. Seminars are offered in various fields of interest and include guest speakers from different industries.