ASIAN 2211 - Introduction to Japan

@# (CA-AS)

Fall. (May be offered during winter or summer session.) 3 credits. Letter grades only.

J.M. Law.

This course surveys major disciplinary approaches in the social sciences and humanities to the study of Japan by focusing on different historical formulations of Japanese native and national identity: Japan the sacred nation, Japan the aesthetic, Japan the warrior (and victim) nation, Japan the ritual nation, Japan the industrious economic superpower and Japan the hyper-modern. We introduce Japanese performance traditions, read fiction, poetry and plays, see classical films and recent anime, and study historical cases relating to each of these formulations. In the fall of 2011, this course will include a special segment on the role of earthquakes in Japanese history. (GE)