ENROLL

Chie Tokuyama

This course provides an introduction to contemporary Japan through a variety of literary works dating from the early postwar period (1945) to the present. While becoming familiar with prize-winning Japanese writers, literary genres, and various artistic conventions, we will examine how writers reacted to, shaped, and critiqued historical events and social situations in which these literary texts are written. Topics for discussion include: war memory, postwar economic success, loss of national identity, shifting concepts of families, gender roles, and lifestyles, minorities, alienation, and disaster. Through readings, lectures, and discussions, you will become familiar with major cultural and historical movements that comprise the complexity of contemporary Japan, and develop the critical skills necessary to analyze literary texts. All readings are in English, and no background knowledge of Japan is required.

In translation

Chie Tokuyama

In this advanced Japanese language course, we will explore a wide range of concepts, social media buzzwords, and cultural phenomena that constitute the fabric of everyday life in Japan today. From “geeks” and “idols” dominating the cultural scene to the “working poor” and “hikikomori,” who represent the precarity Japan faces in the contexts of economic, political and psychological crisis, the course delves into the aspects of key phenomena surrounding contemporary Japanese society. You will develop skills to read, analyze, summarize, and critique various texts written in Japanese, including newspaper articles, scholarly essays, literary texts, and films, while becoming familiar with historical contexts in which these keywords emerged and are used.

Prerequisite: Japanese 206 or equivalent