Contemporary Japan: Cultures, Lifestyles, Trends

Catalog description

Survey of aspects of modern Japanese society; includes readings from Japanese newspapers, magazines, and fiction; topics may vary each semester. JAPNS 452 Contemporary Japan: Cultures, Lifestyles, Trends (3 per semester/maximum of 6) (IL) (BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.This course orients students to cultural issues and trends in contemporary Japan, and the way that those issues and trends are explored in literature, film, newspapers and magazines. The course examines a selection of Japanese-language materials from an array of genres, modes of representation, and historical settings. Focusing on the postwar era to present (1945-), this course introduces various aspects of contemporary Japanese culture, from literary works of the postwar experience to recent popular culture, including anime (animated movies) and manga (graphic novels). Each work is discussed in terms of its own literary or artistic merit, the social context that produced it, its position within the larger trends of literary development in Japan, and its relevance for the modern reader. This course is designed for (prospective) Japanese major or minor students interested in broadening their knowledge of Japanese culture and society as well as for students who wish to compare other cultures and literatures they have studied with those of Japan.