Humanistic Studies 384
Perspectives on Values in Other Cultures: Japan
(5834) TuTr 2:00-3:15 ES 310
Instructor: Clifton Ganyard
Office: TH 393
Office Hours: TuTr 9:00-10:00
or by appointment
Office Phone: 465-2472
E-mail: ganyardc@uwgb.edu
TERAOKA Masami, McDonald's Hamburger
Invading Japan: Chochin-me (1982)
Course Description: This semester, Perspectives on Values in Other Cultures will examine the culture and values of Modern Japan. Topics include social and cultural developments in Meiji, Taisho and Showa Japan, individualism, tradition, modernity, nationalism, war, gender, the family, and the postmodern condition. Our primary source for exploring these issues will be literature, but this will be supplemented by history, cinema, art, and music whenever possible. Please note that this course is designed with upper-level humanistic studies majors in mind; all students are welcome in this class, but please be aware that it is not a general education course. Due to the reading and writing load, I recommend that you have junior standing and that you have completed Introduction to the Humanities 2 (especially useful for comparative purposes) before you take this course. Finally, please note that this is a Writing Emphasis course. The format of the course is discussion of assigned readings and other materials.
A note on Japanese names: Japanese names are listed family name first followed by the given name. Thus, my name would be written as GANYARD Clifton. Since this course makes an effort to delve into Japanese culture, we will attempt to follow this convention throughout the semester. To assist in distinguishing family names from given names, Japanese family names will be written in capital letters while given names will be written normally.
Required Books: There are seven books required for this course:
SOSEKI Natsume, Kokoro
TANIZAKI Junichiro, Naomi
KAWABATA Yasunari, Snow Country
NAKAZAWA Keiji, Barefoot Gen volume 1
OE Kenzaburo, A Personal Matter
MURAKAMI Haruki, A Wild Sheep Chase
MIYABE Miyuki, All She Was Worth
There is one optional book available for the course as well:
Kenneth Pyle, The Making Of Modern Japan
All books are available at the Phoenix bookstore. A variety of other short texts will be assigned throughout the semester. These are listed in the syllabus and will be available on reserve, online, or in class.
In addition, we will be viewing several films in class. In addition, a few other Japanese films may be shown outside of class in conjunction with the Student Film Society and/or the Otaku Anime Club. One of these may be KUROSAWA Akira’s Stray Dog, but there may be others as well. Whenever a relevant film is being shown, I will let you know and encourage you to attend its showing. These films are relevant to our class this semester and you may make use of them in class discussions and for essays.
Course Requirements:
- Read and prepare all assigned readings before attending class, attend class regularly, and participate actively in class discussions.
- Responses to reading assignments listed in the class schedule, due in the class in which the reading will be discussed. The response must be submitted in class; early responses, late responses, and e-mailed responses will not be accepted. The response should be typed and should include a one-paragraph reaction to the assigned reading. Although you are welcome to write as mush as you like about the assigned reading, please limit your submitted response to one page maximum. There are no “right” or “wrong” answers, and creative responses are encouraged. The response grade is essentially a participation grade. Every student begins the semester with an A. You are allowed to miss three (3) responses and still maintain an A. For every response you miss thereafter, however, your grade will be reduced one grade step. (If you miss four responses, you earn an AB; if you miss five responses, you earn a B, etc.) There are 18 responses assigned. The responses taken together are worth 25% of your final grade.
- Mid-term and final exams. Each of these exams will be a take-home essay that asks you to consider the material to that point in the semester. You will have approximately one week to respond to the question and should produce a 3-5 page paper, typed, double-spaced, standard margins (no more than 1.25”), and font size between 10 and 12. All quotations and references must be properly cited using either MLA (parenthetical citation) or footnotes/endnotes. Please do not use APA. Your paper may include a title page, but this does not count toward the page total. Please do not use plastic or paper essay covers. Please do staple your paper. Questions on the final may be cumulative. A hard copy of your exam paper must be submitted in class and an electronic copy must be submitted to TurnItIn (see below). The mid-term assignment will be distributed on Thursday, March 13 and is due in class on Thursday, March 27 and to TurnItIn by 2:00 pm that same day. The final essay assignment will be distributed Thursday, May 8 and is due in my office (TH 393) and to TurnItIn by 2:00 pm on Thursday, May 15. Please note that this replaces the normal exam scheduled by the university. The mid-term and final exams are each worth 25% of the course grade (50% total).
- Term paper on a topic of interest to the student and related to the class. There are dozens of possible topics. A paper proposal is due in class Tuesday, February 19. A hard copy of your final paper must be submitted in class and an electronic copy must be submitted to TurnItIn (see below). It is due in class Thursday, April 24 and to TurnItIn by 2:00 pm that same day. The paper should be 6-8 pages in length, typed, double-spaced, standard margins (no more than 1.25”), and font size between 10 and 12. All quotations and references must be properly cited using either MLA (parenthetical citation) or footnotes/endnotes. Please do not use APA. Your paper may include a title page, but this does not count toward the page total. Please do not use plastic or paper essay covers. Please do staple your paper. The paper is worth 25% or your final grade.
Some Possible Paper Topics
Historical Topics:
Meiji Restoration
Westernization/Modernization
Imperialism
Monarchy
Japan during the First World War
Taisho “Democracy”
The Tokyo Earthquake (1923)
Emperor Hirohito
The Manchurian Incident
The Nanjing Massacre
Japan during the Second World War
Hiroshima and/or Nagasaki
The Occupation of Japan
The Security Treaty
Okinawa
Economic Recovery and Growth
Literary Topics:
Examine one of the assigned authors in greater depth by reading additional works by that author.
Examine an author not assigned for the course (MORI Ogai, MISHIMA Yukio, ABE Kobo, ENCHI Fumiko, YOSHIMOTO Banana).
Examine some aspect of Manga (Japanese “comics”). In particular, I might recommend TEZUKA Osamu, the Godfather of Japanese Manga (Astro Boy, Buddha, Phoenix, Apollo’s Song, Ode to Kirihito), or TAKAHASI Rumiko, who, somewhat belatedly, has been described as the “Japanese J. K. Rowling” (Maison Ikkoku, Urusei Yatsura, Ranma ½, Inu Yasha), but there are many other possibilities
Examine the work of one of Japan’s premier film-makers (MIZOGUCHI Kenji, OZU Yasujiro, KUROSAWA Akira, ITAMI Juzo, MIYAZAKI Hayao).
Examine some aspect of Japanese anime (e.g. gender, identity, apocalypse).
Cultural Topics:
Sumo
Baseball
Women/Gender/Family
Youth
Education
Business
Religion (Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity)
Kabuki or No (traditional Japanese theater)
Takarazuka (an all-female kabuki theater)
Bunraku (puppet theater)
The Culture of Cuteness (kawaii)
Games (especially Pokemon and Yu Gi Oh)
Karaoke
Music (traditional [shakuhachi, koto], western influences, J Pop)
Art (woodblock prints, lacquerware, western influences, Yoko Ono and Fluxus, TERAOKA Masami, MORIMURA Yasumasa and photography, MARIKO Mori and video art, MURAKAMI Takahashi and Superflat)
TurnItIn - http://www.turnitin.com
TurnItIn is an online resource to which you are required to submit all of your papers. Once a paper has been submitted to TurnItIn, the service searches its own database and the Internet for instances of plagiarism. Papers that are not submitted to TurnItIn will not earn credit. At the top of the front page you will see a link to “Training: Getting Started”; here you will find links to Quickstart Guides, User Manuals, and Trainign Videos that have information for students on how to use the systems. To begin, you should create an account. Follow the New Users link in the top right-hand corner of the front page (just above Login). The name of this course on TurnItIn is “Japanese Values”; the Course ID# is 2139505 ; the Course Password is “kawai.”
Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct: Plagiarism is a violation of academic integrity policy and grounds for failure of this course, suspension, or dismissal from the university as outlined by UW-Green Bay 14.03 Academic Misconduct Subject to Disciplinary Action: “Academic misconduct is an act in which a student...seeks to claim credit for the work or efforts of another without authorization or citation.” For further explanation, see the Dean of Students’ University Policies page on Academic Misconduct:
http://www.uwgb.edu/deanofstudents/policies/ch14.htm.
Disability Notice: As required by federal law and UW-Green Bay policy for individuals with disabilities, students with a documented disability who need accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office at 465-2841. Reasonable accommodations can be made unless they alter the essential components of the class. Contact the instructor and Disability Services Coordinator in a timely manner to formulate alternative arrangements.
Course Grades: Final grades will be based on the following formula:
Responses 25%
Mid-term Exam 25%
Final Exam 25%
Paper 25%
There is no curve.
Tentative Course Schedule:
The course schedule may be changed at any time.
Date |
Topic |
Assignment |
|
T 1/22 |
Introduction |
|
|
R 1/24 |
Meiji Restoration [Lecture] |
Recommended: Pyle, chs. 5-6 |
|
T 1/29 |
Meiji Japan [Lecture] |
Recommended: Pyle, chs. 7-9 |
|
R 1/31 |
The Individual in Meiji Japan |
SOSEKI, Kokoro, 1-124 |
Response 1 |
T 2/5 |
The Individual in Meiji Japan |
SOSEKI, Kokoro, 125-248 |
Response 2 |
R 2/7 |
Taisho Japan [Lecture] |
Recommended: Pyle, ch. 10 |
|
T 2/12 |
Tradition & Modernity |
TANIZAKI, Naomi, 3-122 |
Response 3 |
R 2/14 |
Tradition & Modernity |
TANIZAKI, Naomi, 123-237 |
Response 4 |
T 2/19 |
Tradition & Modernity |
Film & Discussion: Osaka Elegy |
Paper Proposal! |
R 2/21 |
On Aesthetics |
TANIZAKI,“In Praise of Shadows” [online] |
Response 5 |
T 2/26 |
Beauty and Sadness |
KAWABATA, Snow Country, 3-87 |
Response 6 |
R 2/28 |
Beauty and Sadness |
KAWABATA, Snow Country, 89-175 |
Response 7 |
T 3/4 |
Showa Japan I [Lecture] |
Recommended: Pyle, ch. 11 |
|
R 3/6 |
Nationalism and War |
NAKAZAWA, Barefoot Gen, 1-142 |
Response 8 |
T 3/11 |
Nationalism and War |
NAKAZAWA, Barefoot Gen, 142-284 |
Response 9 |
R 3/13 |
Showa Japan II [Lecture] |
Recommended: Pyle, chs. 12-14 |
Mid-term Distributed |
3/17-3/21 |
Spring Break! No classes! |
|
|
T 3/25 |
Life in Postwar Japan |
Film & Discussion: Tokyo Story |
|
R 3/27 |
Life in Postwar Japan |
Film & Discussion: Tokyo Story |
Mid-term Essay Due! |
T 4/1 |
The Anxiety of Modern Life |
OE, A Personal Matter, 1-79 |
Response 10 |
R 4/3 |
The Anxiety of Modern Life |
OE, A Personal Matter, 80-165 |
Response 11 |
T 4/8 |
Showa Japan III [Lecture] |
Recommended: Pyle, chs. 15-16 |
|
R 4/10 |
The Postmodern Condition |
MURAKAMI, |
Response 12 |
T 4/15 |
The Postmodern Condition |
MURAKAMI, |
Response 13 |
R 4/17 |
The Postmodern Condition |
MURAKAMI, |
Response 14 |
T 4/22 |
The Anxiety of (Post)Modern Life |
Film & Discussion: The Family Game |
|
R 4/24 |
The Anxiety of (Post)Modern Life |
Film & Discussion: The Family Game |
Term Paper Due! |
T 4/29 |
Consumption & Community |
MIYABE, All She Was Worth, 7-112 |
Response 15 |
R 5/1 |
Consumption & Community |
MIYABE, All She Was Worth, 113-213 |
Response 16 |
T 5/6 |
Consumption & Community |
MIYABE, All She Was Worth, 214-296 |
Response 17 |
R 5/8 |
Heisei Malaise |
MURAKAMI, “Honey Pie” [online] |
Response 18 Final Essay Distributed |
Final Essays Due! |
In my office (TH 393) and to TurnItIn by 2:00 on Thursday, May 15. |
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