Faculty and Staff Directory

Dear Prospective Students,

If you have never taken Japanese courses at Foothill, please be aware that we have a computer blocking system in place. In order to enroll in JAPN 2 or higher, you need to satisfy the prerequisite first. In general, one year of high school language is equal to one quarter of College level Japanese. For example: if you took Japanese 1 & 2 in high school, you can continue with Japanese 3 at Foothill. You still need to have your ID number unblocked for registration, so please send me e-mail (rakowikuko@foothill.edu) for clearance well before your registration period starts. Our courses tend to fill up quickly.

If you are a heritage student who grew up in a household where Japanese was spoken, or if you have studied Japanese using any other methods, please contact me (rakowikuko@foothill.edu) before your registration period starts. You need to be placed at a proper level and have your ID unblocked.

* You can find your registration start date under the "CALENDAR" link. Please look at the "Registration Dates & Deadlines" to find your start date.


Here are our Japanese Program's typical course offerings:

Fall Quarter: JAPN 1, JAPN 2, JAPN 4, JAPN 13A-13B-14A-14B. (* JAPN 4 is only offered once a year in Fall.)
Winter Quarter: JAPN 1, JAPN 2, JAPN 3, JAPN 5, JAPN 13A-13B-14A-14B. (* JAPN 5 is only offered once a year in Winter.)
Spring Quarter: JAPN 1, JAPN 2, JAPN 3, JAPN 6, JAPN 13A-13B-14A-14B. (* JAPN 6 is only offered once a year in Spring.)
Summer Session: JAPN 1, JAPN 3. (* Please be aware that our Summer JAPN 1 & JAPN 3 are 6-week intensive courses, instead of our regular 12-week sessions.)


Ikuko Tomita Rakow's Teaching Schedule:

Fall Quarter: JAPN 1, JAPN 2, JAPN 4. (* JAPN 4 is only offered once a year in Fall.)
Winter Quarter: JAPN 2, JAPN 3, JAPN 5. (* JAPN 5 is only offered once a year in Winter.)
Spring Quarter: JAPN 2, JAPN 3, JAPN 6. (* JAPN 6 is only offered once a year in Spring.)

Looking forward to having you in our Japanese classes!

Best Regards,
Ikuko Tomita, Ph.D.

Fully Asynchronous Online.

Argentine Tango
Rose gardening

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND:
* PhD, Hispanic Languages and Literatures. University of California, Santa Barbara.
* MA, Romance Languages and Literatures. Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo, Japan.
* BA, Spanish Language and Literature. Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo, Japan.

CURRENT ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT:
* Japanese Program Chair, Language Arts Division, Foothill College

FORMER ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT:
* Acting Director of the Language Program, Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego.
* Lecturer of Japanese, Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego.

PUBLICATIONS:

* Articles in Sekai bungaku jiten (Dictionaries of World Literature) (Sogosha Publisher, 2003).

* "Review of Tamura Ryuichi Poems 1946-1998." Translation Review 62, 2001.

* Yoki ai no sho. Translation into Japanese of Spanish masterpiece Libro de buen amor and research on the same book (Kokushokankokai Publisher, 1995), which is the first complete Japanese translation of this work.

* Five articles in Japanese ("Spanish romanticism," "Duque de Rivas," "Gustavo Adolfo Becquer," "Rosalia de Castro," "Vicente Huidobro") in Japanese in Sekai bungaku daijiten (Dictionaries of World Literature) (Shueisha Publisher, 1993).

* Kyoyo no tame no supeingo (Spanish Grammar), a Spanish language text for Japanese learners (Taishukan Publisher, 1991).

RESEARCH INTEREST:
* Modern Japanese literature in translation and its relevance to an understanding of current trends in Japanese society and language.

* "The Impact of the Haikai and Renga on the Western Poetry." Deals with the influence of the traditional Japanese short poetry on the development of European and Latin American symbolist poetry in their succinct forms, disintegration of syntax and symbolism.

* "From Intratextuality to Intertextuality: Anselmo's Metamorphosis into Kojin." Deals with the influence of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's works on Soseki Natsume's creation of the modern Japanese novel through Natsume's research of Laurence Sterne who was, in turn, strongly influenced by Cervantes. This research starts with the study of the interpolated story in Don Quijote and Kojin, and moves to Novelas ejemplares and Natsume's other novels.

* "Honor among Commoners: Comedias and Sewamono." Compares Lope de Vega's "comedias" and Monzaemon Chikamatsu's plays, and analyzes the value systems of their times (Lope de Vega: 1562-1635; Chikamatsu: 1653-1724).

* "Don Juan, Casanova and Hikaru Genji: Three Archetypes of the Womanizer." Compares the Spanish (two versions), Italian and Japanese archetypes of the womanizer, and explains their fates from the cultural and religious points of view.