HIS
272H,
CULTURAL INTERACTIONS: JAPAN
COURSE
SCHEDULE
underlined phrases in the course schedule (and elsewhere)
represent links
to web-based resources available on the course internet web site
WEDNESDAY,
JANUARY 18, 2006 - FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2006 (FIVE SESSIONS):
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE
COURSE
The organization of the course, its goals and objectives, assignments and expectations will be determined. Terms and concepts, themes and analytical perspectives key to success in the course will be addressed. Students will begin to explore defining aspects of traditional and modern Japanese society and culture and to define potential research topics and available resources.
MONDAY,
JANUARY 30, 2006 - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2006 (NINE SESSIONS):
THE IMPACT OF CHINESE
AND KOREAN INFLUENCES ON THE FORMATION OF TRADITIONAL JAPANESE CULTURE
AND CIVILIZATION
The
transformation of prehistoric economic and social life, the emergence
of a centralized political state, literary and aesthetic influences on
aristocratic culture and the growth of Buddhist religious practices and
influences.
Students will be asked
to chart the process by which an element originating in traditional Chinese
culture becomes integrated into traditional Japanese civilization either
through an informal extended journal entry or a more formal short (3
5 pages) analytical essay. Either
undertaking must provide evidence of content mastery, individual research
and appropriate concept application in its interpretation of the cultural
element discussed as well as comprehension and understanding of the approach
being utilized in the course of study.
(journal evaluated on a satisfactory /
unsatisfactory basis - 10% of final course grade; essay graded on A
F scale 20% of final grade)
WEDNESDAY,
FEBRUARY 22, 2006 - FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2005 (EIGHT SESSIONS):
WESTERN INFLUENCES AT
WORK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY TRANSFORMATION OF JAPANESE CIVILIZATION
AND CULTURE
The introduction and
fate of modern Western systems and institutions -- political, economic
and military; the whys and wherefores behind the adoption and adaptation
of Western cultural patterns, habits and customs; the role of Western
individuals in the acceleration of Japan's modern transformation in military
affairs, science, architecture, economics, medicine and education.
Students will be asked to examine the process through which an element of Western civilization is integrated into modern Japanese life through an extended journal entry, a short (3 5 pages) analytical essay or a ten minute classroom presentation. The journal entry / essay / presentation will be evaluated on the strength of its underlying research and its analytical and evaluative insights. (journal evaluated on a satisfactory / unsatisfactory basis - 10% of final course grade; essay graded on A F scale 20% of final grade; presentation will be graded a satisfactory / unsatisfactory basis - 10% of final course grade)
MONDAY,
MARCH 20, 2006 - FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2006 (SIX SESSIONS):
JAPONISME IN THE WEST
AS AN EXPRESSION OF ORIENTALISM
The Japanese impact
on Impressionism, Art Nouveau and the English Arts and Crafts movement; catering to Western expectations: Japanese "Occcidentalism"; creating an aesthetic image in the popular
imagination -- Sadayakko, Madame Butterfly and
"The Mikado".
In this section of the
course, each student will investigate the impact on Western culture of
some aspect of either the actual Japanese aesthetic tradition or the Western
image of Things Japanese as evidenced in early twentieth century European
and/or American life, individually presenting findings and analysis there
of in the form of an extended journal entry, a short (3 5 page) analytical
essay or as part of a panel presentation (dealing with the Japanese impact
on Impressionism, Art Nouveau and/or the English Arts and Crafts movement). (journal evaluated
on a satisfactory / unsatisfactory basis - 10% of final course grade;
essay graded on A F scale 20% of final grade; panel presentation will
be evaluated on a satisfactory / unsatisfactory basis - 10% of final course
grade)
Students will also participate in a graded class discussion on the emergence of Japanese "Occidentalism" derived from reading Lesley Downers Madame Sadayakko: The Geisha Who Bewitched the West or preparing a short analysis (3 5 pages) of this topic as evidenced by Sadayako, Madame Butterfly and "The Mikado". (essay graded on A F scale 20% of final grade; group discussion will be graded on satisfactory / unsatisfactory basis 10% of final grade)
MONDAY,
APRIL 3, 2006 - FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 2006 (THREE SESSIONS):
THE JAPANESE IMPERIALIST
QUEST FOR EMPIRE AND ITS AFTERMATH -- THE OCCUPATION YEARS (1945 –
1952) -- AS OPPOSING INSTANCES OF WESTERN INFLUENCES AT WORK IN MODERN
JAPANESE HISTORY
The class will be divided into two groups, one assigned to examine the rise of militarism in Japan and the Western impact thereupon and the second to an analysis of the impact of American expectations on Occupied Japan between 1945 and 1952. Each group will present their findings to their fellow classmates as part of a two-part panel presentation.
MONDAY,
APRIL 10, 2006 - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2006 (TWO SESSIONS):
RETHINKING ORIENTALISM
AFTER WORLD WAR TWO IN THE UNITED STATES
An instructor-led analytical and interpretive discussion of Christina Klein’s Cold War Orientalism: Asia in the Middlebrow Imagination, 1945 – 1961 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003).
FRIDAY,
APRIL 14, 2006 - FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2006 (SEVEN SESSIONS):
THE “SOFT POWER”
INFLUENCE OF CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE POPULAR CULTURE ON THE WORLD SCENE:
RECONCILING THE UNIQUE AND THE GLOBAL
Individual student explorations of a specific illustration of expanding Japanese “soft power” influences (as defined and illustrated by the instructor) at work in a global setting will be undertaken, focusing on examples drawn from contemporary popular culture around the world. A classroom discussion of these examples will be followed by a consideration of the impact of these popular cultural influences on the global scene and within Japan itself.
MONDAY,
MAY 1, 2006 - MONDAY, MAY 9, 2006 (FOUR SESSIONS):
CONCLUDING THE COURSE
OF STUDY
The applicability of insights gained as applied to American culture and civilization will also be explored in class discussions.