JAPAN 4540 - Japanese Popular Culture

This course will expose students to a wide variety of late-20th century and 21st century Japanese popular culture materials and will engage with various written and visual texts in a critical way. We will interrogate the definition of the "popular culture" and of what falls under the category of "Japanese" culture. Students will use a number of approaches to examine a wide variety of genres including contemporary fiction, manga, anime, film, television, and fine art as a way to exercise their critical thinking skills. The course aims to expand students' understanding of contemporary Japanese history, in addition to Japanese culture and society.