JAPN 118 - Modern Japanese Literature in Translation
3 HU, CD, WR Second Semester. This course is an introduction to the rich body of
Japanese literary and cinematic tradition of Japan from the nineteenth
century to the present, Texts may include literary works by
Murakami Haruki, Higuchi Ichiyo, Tanizaki Jun’ichiro, Natsume Soseki,
Oe Kenzaburo, avant-garde cinema, anime, the film of Kurosawa Akira,
Mizoguchi Kenji, and Ozu Yasujiro, haiku, renga, and free verse poetry.
We will explore issues of style, influence, and national
literature/film against the backdrop of cultural and political history,
and investigate the reception of these works in relation to ideas
of gender, aesthetics, and nationalism. No knowledge of Japanese
language required.