87765 - 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

Female bodies, metropolis body

The course aims to explore the complex relationship between women and the city, and the role of urban space in the construction of gender identity. A narrative and metropolitan path that, through the analysis of fiction, manga, live action and animation films, will focus on socio-cultural changes, explore the most recent issues and the most relevant themes and innovations. The well-known critic Maeda Ai (2004), in particular, has identified three axes to explore the interconnections between form and meaning in metropolitan space and narrative:

1. Symbolic axis i.e. private space and public places, linked to specific social contexts or institutional realities.

2.Paradigmatic axis, the axis of binary oppositions inside/outside, city/countryside, centre/periphery.

3. Syntagmatic axis, i.e. connections, transport systems, road, rail and metro networks.

In contemporary Japan writings, the result of a culture by definition metropolitan, the three dimensions very often coexist and become the cardinal points of the interpretation, allowing not only to highlight the salient features of a culture that in recent years has been able to speak to an increasingly wide audience far from national borders, but also to follow the rapid change and evolution of Tokyo, symbol of a modernity increasingly confused with the future.


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

Readings/Bibliography

Critical sources:

Maeda Ai, Text and the City. Essays on Japanese Modernity, Duke University Press, 2004.

John Clammer, Contemporary Urban Japan: A Sociology of Consumption, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.

Henrietta Moore, ‘Understanding Sex and Gender’, in Ingold, Tim (ed.) Companion Encyclopedia of Anthropology, London - New York, Routledge, 1993 (2002)

Lynne Nakano, ‘Single Women in Marriage and Employment Markets in Japan’, in Kawano, Satsuki, Glenda S. Roberts and Susan O. Long, Capturing Contemporary Japan, pp.163-182, Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 2014

Aoyama Kaoru, ‘Migrants and the Sex Industry’, in Fujimura-Fanselow, Kumiko (ed), Transforming Japan: How Feminism and Diversity Are Making A Difference, The Feminist Press at CUNY, 2011, (Chapter 20).

Sharon Kinsella, ‘Narratives and Statistics: How Compensated Dating (enjo kōsai) was Sold’, in Goodman, R, Imoto, Y and T. Toivonen, A Sociology of Japanese Youth: From Returnees to NEETs, Routledge, 2012, Chapter 3

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

Sarah Chaplin, Japanese Love Hotels, Routledge, 2010.

 

Primary sources:

Kirino Natsuo, Grotesque, Neri Pozza, Milano, 2003

Taguchi Randy, Mosaico, Fazi, 2008

No geisha. Otto modi di essere donna nel Giappone di oggi, Mondadori, Milano, 2008

Murakami Ryu, Tokyo decadence, Mondadori, Milano, 2004

Murata Sayaka, La ragazza del convenience store, Atmosphere, 2018

 

Film and documentary:

Murakami Ryu, Tokyo decadence, Giappone 1992

Mamoru Oshii, Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence, Giappone 2004

 

Other materials will be provided by the teacher during the lessons.

 

The Powerpoint files used during the course will be available for students on the course website (see 'Teaching material).

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 proposed materials will result in an insufficient evaluation.

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 (see 'Teaching material).

Office hours

See the website of Paola Scrolavezza