Required Texts
[Bumiller] Bumiller, Elizabeth. The Secrets of Mariko: A Year in the Life of a Japanese Woman and Her Family. Vintage Books, 1996. ISBN: 9780679772620.
[Ito] Ito, Mizuko, ed. Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World. Yale University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9780300158649.
[Philip] Philip, Leila. The Road Through Miyama. Vintage Books, 1991. ISBN: 978067972501.
| SES # | TOPICS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| Part I: What is Japanese Culture? Everyday Life and Contemporary Issues | ||
| 1–2 | Introduction to the Course: Brief history Japan and the contemporary study of culture | [Bumiller] 1-33 |
| 3–4 | Is Japan group-oriented? |
[Bumiller] Continue reading. Finish by session 8. Kelly, William. “Finding a Place in Metropolitan Japan.” In Postwar Japan as History. Edited by Andrew Gordon. University of California Press, 1993. ISBN: 9780520074750. Film: Makiko’s New World. Directed by David Plath. Color, 57 min. Media Production Group, 1999. [Preview available on YouTube: docued. “Makiko’s New World – PREVIEW.” September 10, 2008. Accessed August 28, 2012.] Film: Hoichi the Earless, excerpt from Kwaidan. Directed by Masaki Kobayashi. Color, 183 min, 1964. |
| 5 | Culture of Art, Folktakes, and Performance |
Hearn, Lafcadio. “Hoichi the Earless.” In Kwaidan. CreateSpace, 2012. ISBN: 9781477469804. McCullough, Helen. Chapters 1 and 9 in The Tale of the Heike. Stanford University Press, 1990. ISBN: 9780804718035. |
| 6–9 | Men, Women, and Change |
Kelly, William W., and Merry I. White. “Students, Slackers, Singles, Seniors and Strangers: Transforming a Family Nation.” (PDF) Film: The Pacific Century, Vol. 6: Inside Japan, Inc. 60 mins. 1992. |
| Part II: Encounters with Cultural Difference | ||
| 10–13 | Diversity of Japan |
[Philip] All. Millar, Laura, and Jan Bardsley. Bad Girls of Japan. Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. ISBN: 9781403969477.
Video Games from Japan Wezorek, Joe. “Japanese Dominance of the Video Game Industry.” In The Japanification of Children’s Popular Culture: From Godzilla to Miyazaki. Edited by Mark I. West. Scarecrow Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780810851214. [Ito] Kijima, Yoshimasa. “The Fighting Gamer Otaku Community: What Are They Fighting About?” Chapter 9. Popular Culture and Society Be familiar with: Azuma, Hiroki. Otaku: Japan’s Database Animals. Translated by Jonathan E. Abel and Shion Kono. University of Minnesota Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780816653522. Otsuka. “Narrative Consumption.” (2011) Miyazaki, Hayao. “My Theories on the Popularity of Manga.” In Starting Point: 1979-1996. Translated by Beth Cary and Frederik L. Schodt. VIZ Media, LLC, 2009. ISBN: 9781421505947. |
| 14–15 | Hiroshima: Did the Bomb End the War? |
Sayle, Murray. “Letter from Hiroshima: Did the Bomb End the War?,” New Yorker, July 31, 1995, 40–64. Dower, John. “Don’t Expect Democracy in Iraq.” Boston Review, February/March 2003 issue. Napier, Susan J. “Grave of the Fireflies.” In Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. Palgrave Macmillan, 2001. ISBN: 9780312238629. Film: Grave of the Fireflies. Directed by Isao Takahata. Color, 89 min. Studio Ghibli, 1988. |
| 16–18 | Contemporary Japan as Global Culture | McGray, Douglas. “Japan’s Gross National Cool.” Foriegn Policy, May 1, 2012. |
