95011 - Japanese Literature and Culture (lm)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will have the theoretical and methodological instruments necessary for the analysis of the literary and cultural history of twentieth century Japan. A comparative approach will be favoured, taking also into account other forms of artistic expression (cinema , music, visual arts) in order to enhance understanding and critical reading of the cultural specificities of the country. Elaboration of complex analysis and formulation of autonomous reflections on specific research topics, proposed by the teacher, will also be stimulated.

Course contents

Politics of the body: paths of imposition, deconstruction and reconstruction in Japanese literature and artistic production

The course will address the representations and narratives of contemporary Japan that focus on women's bodies - as political theatre, as a clash between social impositions and alternative forms of knowledge - and their increasing diffusion on an international level. The aim is to analyse in a seminar format with the proactive involvement of students the emergence and representation of discomfort arising from social pressure in contemporary cultural productions (especially literature, cinema and manga). From hard-to-achieve beauty standards to the stigmatisation of ageing, from the public discourse on motherhood to the control over women's sexuality, there are several ways through which women's bodies are still objectified. As the data provided by the Japan Association for Eating Disorders and the Japanese Ministry of Health show, women in their 30s and 50s often resort to extreme practices to be as thin as the very young female icons proposed by the media, from drastic diets to drug abuse to cosmetic surgery: the aim is to escape the cruel gaze cast by society, a male gaze that stigmatises those who do not fit the standard, which wants women to be eternally young and beautiful. And willing to play the role that patriarchal society continues to decide for them.

Students are required to participate in extracurricular activities - seminars, conferences and initiatives organised alongside the course.

Students unable to attend must contact the teachers at the beginning of the courses.

**No prior knowledge of Japan or the Japanese language is required.

Readings/Bibliography

Critical sources:

Yoko Tokuhiro, Marriage in Contemporary Japan, Routledge 2010.

Chizuko Ueno, The Modern Family in Japan: Its Rise and Fall, Trans Pacific Press 2009.

Amanda Seaman, Reading Pregnancy in Low Fertility Japan, Honolulu, University of Hawai'i Press, 2017.

Julia C. Bullock, The Other Women's Lib: Gender and Body in Japanese Women's Fiction, 1960-1973, University of Hawai'i Press 2010.

Hansen, Gitte Marianne, Femininity, Self-harm and Eating Disorders in Japan: Navigating contradiction in narrative and visual culture, Routledge, 2015. 

Women and Politics in Contemporary Japan, edited by Emma Dalton, Routledge, 2015, pp. 1-39.

Allison, Anne. "Cutting the Body: Representing Woman in Bishōnen Fan Magazines", in Mechademia 2: Networks of Desire, 2007, pp. 173-192.

Sato, Barbara. "Contesting Consumerisms in Mass Women’s Magazines", in The Modern Girl Around the World: Consumption, Modernity, and Globalization, edited by Alys Eve Weinbaum et al., 2008, pp. 264-287.

Brandt, Kim, "The Beauty of Labor: Imagining Factory Girls in Japan’s New Order", in The Culture of Japanese Fascism, edited by Alan Tansman, 2009, pp. 115-137.

Kinsella, Sharon, "Cuties in Japan", in Women, Media and Consumption in Japan, edited by Lise Skov and Brian Moeran, 1995, pp. 92-115.

Miller, Laura, Beauty Up: Exploring Contemporary Japanese Body Aesthetics, University of California Press, 2006.

Primary sources:

Shiori Ito, Black Box, Inari Books 2020

Tsushima Yuko, Il figlio della fortuna, traduzione di M.T. Orsi, Safarà editore, 2021

Murata Sayaka, La cerimonia della vita, E/O 2023

Kawakami Mieko, Seni e uova, E/O 2020

Oyamada Hiroko, La buca, Neri Pozza 2022

Nagira Yuu, Luna nomade, Atmosphere libri, 2022

Satō Yūya, Dendera, Rizzoli 2023

 

Other materials will be provided by the teacher during 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.

 

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 is oral and is designed to assess the achievement of the main teaching objectives of the course, i.e. the acquisition of critical knowledge of the history of women in Japan, with attention to the relationship between representations and historical, cultural and social context. Given seminar format of the course, where active participation in the discussion is crucial, the exam will consist of an in-depth research of a subject from those addressed in the course, which will be presented and discussed during the final exam.The exam will be considered satisfactory if it demonstrates an informed knowledge of the main themes addressed, combined with the critical methodologies used throughout the lessons.

Teaching tools

Slides, video, multi-media supports. 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 course website (Virtuale).

Office hours

See the website of Paola Scrolavezza