EAST 119 - Visualizing Japan: Introduction to Japanese Cinema

Semester Offered: Second Semester
Full Course
Credits: 4 credits
Attribute: 4HU, CD

This course serves as an introduction to Japanese cinema (live action, animated) and an inquiry into notions of transnationalism, from prewar modernism to the postcolonial present. These films will be used to explore concepts of Japanese multiculturalism, sexuality, nationalism, colonial memory, and hybridity, among others. We will also analyze representations of marginalized groups to inquire into the possibility of a transnational or hybrid identity in the global era. How do these films “visualize” Japanese-ness and transnational identity and are these visions seen as compatible? In what ways are these films engaged in a dialogue with concepts of postcoloniality and ethnicity?

Enrollment Limit: 25
Instructor: N. Heneghan