EAST 326 - Labor in Japanese Literature and Film from the 1920s to 2010s

FC ARHU CD

4 credits
This course examines modern Japanese literature and film, with a focus on the representation of labor. Over the course of the 20th century, the social structure of Japanese society underwent multiple changes. We will examine the various descriptions of labor in literature and film in order to spur conversation around the idea of work. What kind of relation is born around labor? What activity counts as work? Who does what kind of work? Materials may include literary and filmic works by Yokomitsu Riichi, Sayaka Murata, Convenience Store Woman, Kawabata Yasunari, Kirino Natsuo, and proletarian literature.