Oriental Languages and Cultures

General objectives: The course aims to deepen the knowledge of the morphology and written praxes of the Japanese language, particularly in the premodern period, with the specific goal of enabling the learner to read, interpret, and translate archival sources and documents written according to the stylistic convention of sinitic literacy and clerical writings. The course also involves a reasoned study of the major evolutions of the Japanese notation and writing conventions through the centuries, with advanced notions of paleography and diplomatics useful for conducting an analytical examination of original specimens of significant literary, documentary, and archival value. Specific objectives: By the end of the course, the learner will be able to read and interpret premodern texts of different categories and genres; will have a thorough knowledge of the history of Japanese archival science and will be able to identify, transcribe, classify, and interpret documents written in cursive or semi-cursive script, types of manuscripts, and historical printed editions.