JAPN221

Since the early modern period, Japanese cultural forms have reflected the innate instability of contemporary social structures. Focusing on Noh drama, Matsuo Basho's haiku travelogue Oku no hosomichi, popular fiction by Ihara Saikaku, the movement for vernacular literature in the late 19th century, the rise and fall of Marxists and feminists in early 20th century Japan, a variety of perspectives on WWII and its legacy, as well as Japanese pop culture, we will consider the way cultural works developed as part of Japan's radical transformations in the last four centuries. A major film component increases students' direct exposure to the work of Japan's cultural producers, and students' suggestions and interests will help shape the final unit of the course about Japan today. Taught in English, and all readings are in English translation.