Course Syllabus 2015 YONSEI INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL

Contemporary Japanese Culture

CREDIT INSTRUCTOR Janice S Kanemitsu

OFFICE OFFICE HOURS

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[COURSE INFORMATION] This course looks at a different aspect of contemporary Japanese culture in each of the six weeks: culinary culture; education; changing employment patterns; attitudes toward “asobi” (play) and “kawaii” (cute)as well as cute culture; and the constructed nature and pervasive reach of Japan’s entertainment industry and star system. We will also be looking at related COURSE DESCRIPTION cultural aspects of each main topic. For example, our examination of kogyaru (young girls) will & GOALS include street fashion and conspicuous consumption, whereas the topic of otaku (geeks) will also cover Japan’s internet communities and media representations of the otaku.

Each class meeting will consist of a short lecture, small-group discussion or other form of active learning, and the screening of media related to the topic of the day.

PREREQUISITE None, although a prior course on Japanese culture or history is highly recommended.

Complete weekly readings and come to class each day prepared for active participation. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Regarding the course materials, students will be required to order a course reader from the copy center. Please order the course reader as soon as you can; it is printed on an on-demand basis.

Academic performance will be assessed on weekly responses (Monday), short weekly quizzes GRADING POLICY (Thursday), and a final examination.

Rath, Eric C. “Reevaluating Rikyū: Kaiseki and the Origins of Japanese Cuisine.” Journal of Japanese Studies 39.1 (Winter 2013): 69-76. Lucaks, Gabrielle. “Iron Chef Around the World: Japanese Food Television, Soft Culture, and Cultural Globalization.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 13.4 (2010): 409-26. Brau, Lori. “Oishibō’s Adventures in Eating: Food, Communication, and Culture in Japanese Comics.” Gastronomica 4.4 (Fall 2004): 35-45. Rohlen, Thomas. “Five High Schools.” In Japan’s High Schools, 11-44. Berkeley: UC Press, 1984. Frost, Peter. “Education Hell.” In Windows on Japanese Education, ed. Edward R. Beauchamp, 291-305. NY: Greenwood, 1991. TEXTS & REFERENCES Brinton, Mary C. Lost in Transition: Youth, Work, and Instability in Postindustrial Japan. 1-33 and 63-97. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Kondō Motohiro. “The Growing Crop of Japanese Singles.” Japan Echo (June 2000): 49- 53. Genda Yūji. “Don’t Blame the Unmarried Breed.” Japan Echo (June 2000): 54-56. Dailot-Bul, Michal. “Asobi in Action.” Cultural Studies 23.3 (2009): 355-80. Kinsella, Sharon. “Cuties in Japan." In Women, Media and Consumption in Japan, ed. Brian Moeran and Lise Scov, 220-54. Curzon & Hawaii University Press, 1995. Yoshimi Shun’ya. “From Street Corner to Living Room: Domestication of TV Culture and National Time/Narrative.” Mechademia 9 (2014): 126-42. Course Syllabus 2015 YONSEI INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL

Thorn, Matthew. 2004. “Girls and Women Getting Out of Control: The Pleasure and Politics of Japan’s Amateur Comics Community.” In Fanning the Flames: Fans and Consumer Culture in Contemporary Japan, ed. William W. Kelly, 169-87. NY: SUNY Press. Bardsley, Jan. “The Oyaji Gets a Makeover: Guides for Japanese Salarymen in the New Millenia.” In Manners and Mischief: Gender, Power, and Etiquette in Japan, ed. Jan Bardsley and Laura Miller, 114-35. Berkeley: UC Press, 2011. Hirakawa, Hiroko. “The Diginifed Woman Who Loves to Be ‘Lovable.’” In Manners and Mischief, 136-55. Charlebois, Justin. “Herbivore Masculinity as an Oppositional Form of Masculinity.” Culture, Society, and Masculinity 5.1 (Spring 2010): 89-104. Gilbraith, Patrick W., and Jason G. Karlin, eds. Idols and Celebrity in Media Culture. New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2013.

Janice Kanemitsu received both her M.A. (Asian Studies, emphasis: Japan) and Ph.D. (Japanese Literature and Culture) from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests broadly encompass literature and theater in Japan's early modern period INSTRUCTOR’S PROFILE (1603-1868), centering on the generic boundaries of historical narratives and period plays, the intersection of print and performance as a site of literary and cultural transmission, and representation of gender, exaggerated and reversed. At Cornell University, she teaches courses on Japanese literature and culture, theater and performance, and contemporary popular Japanese culture.

[WEEKLY SCHEDULE] * Your detailed explanation would be very helpful for prospective students to get a pre-approval for credit-transfer from their home university in advance. COURSE MATERIAL & WEEK (PERIOD) WEEKLY TOPIC & CONTENTS REFERENCE ASSIGNMENTS

Rath, Eric C. “Reevaluating Rikyū: Kaiseki and the Origins of Food Culture Japanese Cuisine.” 69-76. 1 Fine cuisine, cooking as performance, Lucaks, Gabrielle. “Iron Chef Gourmet mangas Around the World,” 409-26. Brau, Lori. “Oishibō’s Adventures in Eating,” 33-45.

Rohlen, Thomas. “Five High Schools.” 11-44. 2 School Frost, Peter. “Education Hell.” 291-305.

Brinton, Mary C. Lost in Transition. 1- 33 and 63-97. Kondō Motohiro. “The Growing 3 NEETs, Parasite Singles, and Freeters Crop of Japanese Singles.” 49- 53. Genda Yūji. “Don’t Blame the Unmarried Breed.” 54-56. Course Syllabus 2015 YONSEI INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL

COURSE MATERIAL & WEEK (PERIOD) WEEKLY TOPIC & CONTENTS REFERENCE ASSIGNMENTS

Dailot-Bul. "Asobi in Action." 355- Culture of Play, Culture of Cuteness 380. 4 Kogyaru, street fashion Otaku/cyber communities Kinsella, Sharon. “Cuties in Japan." 220-54.

Bardsley, Jan. “The Oyaji Gets a Makeover,” 114-35. Shifting Gender Relations: Hirakawa, Hiroko. “The Diginifed 5 Rethinking traditional gender roles Woman Who Loves to Be ‘Lovable.’” 136-55. Charlebois, Justin. “Herbivore Masculinity,” 89-104.

The Cultural Industry of Entertainment Gilbraith and Karlin, eds. Idols and 6 The Jimushō System Celebrity in Japanese Media Creating and Promoting Idols Culture. (selected chapters)