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Readings are also listed by session.
Required Texts
Robertson, Jennifer. Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780520211513.
Napier, Susan. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke. New York, NY: Palgrave, 2001. ISBN: 9780312238636.
Keene, Donald, trans. Chushingura: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1997. ISBN: 9780231035316.
Readings by Session
Course readings.
| WEEK # |
TOPICS |
READINGS |
| 1 |
Introduction to the Course: Asian / Performance / Cultures
Discussion: Performances of Class and Gender - Street vs. Opera |
Film: Wu, Tian-Ming. King of Masks, 1996. |
| 2 |
Anime and Japanese Culture |
Geertz, Clifford. "Notes on the Balinese Cockfight." 1973, republished "Deep Play: notes on the Balinese Cockfight." 1972. Daedalus 134, no. 4 (Fall 2005): 56-86.
Napier, Susan. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke. New York, NY: Palgrave, 2001, pp. 3-138. ISBN: 9780312238636. (Text)
Film: Kon, Satoshi. Paranoia Agent, 2004. (TV show - Part 1) |
| 3 |
Pokemon and Cross-Cultural Influence |
Selections from Pikachu's Global Adventure
Tobin, Joseph, ed. Pikachu's Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokemon. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004, chapters 4-6. ISBN: 9780822332879.
Allison, Anne. "Cuteness as Japan's Millennial Product." In Pikachu's Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokemon. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780822332879.
Selected Short Stories by Haruki Murakami
Haruki, Murakami. "The Kidney-Shaped Stone That Moves Everyday," The New Yorker, September 26, 2005.
Film: Kon, Satoshi. Paranoia Agent, 2004. (TV show - Part 2) |
| 4 |
Anime as Performance
Discussion of Issues Related to Paper 1 |
Napier, Susan. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke. New York, NY: Palgrave, 2001. ISBN: 9780312238636. (Finish the book - text) |
| 5 |
Fiction, Music and Politics |
Short Stories by Haruki Murakami
Murakami, Haruki. "UFO in Kushiro," The New Yorker, September, 2001. |
| 6 |
Hip-Hop, Japan and Race as Performed |
Wood, Joe. "Yellow Negro." In Giant Steps: A New Generation of African-American Writers. Edited by Kevin Young. New York, NY: Perennial, 2001. ISBN: 9780613339032.
Condry, Ian. "Yellow B-Boys, Black Culture, and the Elvis Effect." In Hip-Hop Japan and the Paths of Cultural Globalization. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. (Forthcoming)
Atkins, Taylor. "The Japanese Jazz Artist and the Authenticity Complex." In Blue Nippon. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2001. ISBN: 9780822327219.
Film: Watanabe, Shinichirô. Samurai Champloo, 2004. (Selected episodes) |
| 7 |
Asian Identities and Politics through Comics
Tak Toyoshima will Discuss his Editorial Comic Secret Asian Man during the First Half of Class |
Murakami, Takashi. Superflat Manifesto. Tokyo, Japan: Madora Shuppan, 2000. ISBN: 9784944079209.
Duus, Peter "Weapons of the Weak, Weapons of the Strong: The Development of the Japanese Political Cartoon." Journal of Asian Studies 60, no. 4 (November 2001).
Read "Secret Asian Man" archive. (Selections)
Film: Watanabe, Shinichirô. Samurai Champloo, 2004. (Selected episodes) |
| 8 |
Beijing Film Academy - Animation from China |
Robertson, Jennifer. Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780520211513. (First half) |
| 9 |
Gender, Sexuality and Performance |
Robertson, Jennifer. Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780520211513. (Finish)
Film: Longinotto, Kim, and Jano Williams. Dream Girls, 1994. |
| 10 |
Transgendered Identities in Japan |
Keene, Donald, trans. Chushingura: The Treasury of Loyal Retainers. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1997. ISBN: 9780231035316. (First half)
Film: Ogawa, Lulu. We Are Transgenders, 1998. |
| 11 |
Cultural Performances and Authenticity
Discussion of Authenticity, 47 Samurai ("Passing" as Failed Ronin) |
|
| 12 |
Student Presentations
Discussion of Final Paper Topics |
|
| 13 |
Final Class |
|