31335 - Japanese Literature 3

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will have acquired a profound knowledge of problems and trends in the history of Japanese literature. They can read and discuss literary works in original language and will be able to evaluate literary quality, themes and style of the works that have been studied, analyzing the texts according to specific critical methodologies and reading them in historical and cultural context.

Course contents

Erotic, Grotesque, Nonsense in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Culture

The so-called ero guro nansensu is a socio-cultural phenomenon born in Japan toward the end of the twenties. Deeply linked to modernization and urbanization process, it plays a key role in birth and spread of mass culture. Ero refers to eroticism, freedom of sexual expression and attention to the erotic sphere; guro refers to grotesque, that is the fascination for aberration, perversion and deviance; nansensu is nonsense, in other words the absurd, the senseless. The ero guro nonsensu has in recent years received special attention from critics, who highlighted that in fact its influence is not limited to the period between the two world wars, but is also strong in today's art, literature and subcultures. The course will focus on the phenomenon, investigating its roots and its many influences during the '900.

Students who choose to take this class as "Japanese Literature 3" will prepare a Powerpoint presentation focused on a topic related to the course contents.

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliography:

Students are expected to show a basic knowledge of the history of Japanese literature from 1868 to present days. Our reference text is:

L. Bienati, P. Scrolavezza, La narrativa giapponese moderna e contemporanea , Collana "Elementi", Marsilio, Venezia 2009

Critical sources:

Abel Jonathan E. (2007), "The Ero-Puro Sense. Declassifying Censored Literature from Interwar Japan", Japan Forum, 19:3, pp. 341-367.

Angles Jeffrey (2011), Writing the love of boys. Origins of Bishonen Culture in Modernist Japanese Literature, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press.

Cohn Joel R. (1998), Studies in the Comic Spirit in Modern Japanese Fiction, Cambridge, Harvard University Asia Press.

Marran Christine L. (2007), Poison woman. Figuring Female Transgression in Modern Japanese Culture, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press.

Mizuta Lippit Noriko (1977), "Tanizaki and Poe. The Grotesque and the Quest for Supernal Beauty", Comparative Literature, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Summer, 1977);

Pflugfelder Gregory M. (1998), Cartographies of Desire. Male-male Sexuality in Japanese Discourse, 1600-1950, Berkeley, University of California Press.

Silverberg Miriam ( 2006), Erotic, Grotesque, Nonsense. The Mass Culture of Japanese Modern Times, Berkeley, University of California Press.

Suzuki Sadami (1996), "Tanizaki Jun’ichiro as Cultural Critic", Japan ReviewNo. 7, pp. 23-32

Suzuki Sadami (1998), Eroticism, Grotesquerie, and Nonsense in Taishō Japan. Tanizaki’s Response to Modern and Contemporary Culture in ed. Boscaro Adriana, Chambers Anthony Hood, Ann Arbor, A Tanizaki feast. The International Symposium in Venice, The University of Michigan, Center for Japanese studies, pp. 41-53.

William J. Tyler (2008), Modanizumu. Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913-1938, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press.

William J. Tyler (2009), "Introduction: Making Sense of Nansensu", Japan Forum, 21:1, pp.1-10.

Primary sources:

Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, Pianto di sirena e altri racconti, Feltrinelli, Milano, 2009

Edogawa Ranpo, La belva nell'ombra, Marsilio, Venezia, 2002

Edogawa Ranpo, L'inferno degli specchi, Urania Collezione Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, n° 99, aprile 2011

Edogawa Ranpo e Suehiro Maruo, La strana storia dell'isola Panorama, Coconino Press, 2011

Kanehara Hitomi, Serpenti e piercing, Fazi, 2005

Shintaro Kago, SUPER CONDUCTIVE BRAINS PARATAXIS,Star Comics, 2016

Movies:

Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira, 1988

Shinya Tsukamoto, Gemini (Sōseiji), 1999

Satoshi Kon, Paprika, 2010

The Powerpoint files that will be used during the course will be available for students by the end of the course on the AMS Campus website.

Teaching methods

The course will consist in lectures held by the teacher and seminars. A strong and active participation in class discussions by the students is warmly encouraged.

Assessment methods

The exam will be oral. The exam will test the student's ability to elaborate on the topics exposed in class, to show the knowledge acquired thorugh the study of the proposed bibliography, and their capability for critical thinking. A critical knowledge of the topics will be evaluated as excellent, while an excessive dependence on texts and manuals without any interpretative support will be evaluated with a positive but low score. The proven and repeated difficulty in creating logical and descriptive connections between cultural phenomena and literary contents will result in an insufficient evaluation.

Teaching tools

Slides, video, multi-media supports. A series of films related to the texts in this syllabus will be shown and discussed during classes. The list will be published by the beginning of the lessons.
In addition to class lectures, a series of seminars held by national as well as international scholars will be organized, whose active involvement is part of the final exam.

The Powerpoint files used during the course will be available for students on the AMS Campus website.

Office hours

See the website of Paola Scrolavezza