HIST 3620 Making Japanese Popular Culture

This course examines contemporary Japanese popular culture from historical and theoretical perspectives. Learning how Japan was both impacted by and contributed to worldwide trends in culturaltransformation over the past several centuries requires critical analysis of the very notion of “globalization.” We analyze recent cultural materials to view Japanese culture as it is now, while examining classic examples of cultural adoption and adaptation from earlier periods of cultural creation in Japan with global impact. The objects and practices studied are wide-ranging, including wood-block prints, political and national symbols, architecture, advertising, visual and print media, literature, theatre,cinema, animé, manga, fashion, music, food, and art. The course centers on active student engagement with and manipulation of these cultural forms through active testing and calibration of cultural theory enhanced by technology. Prerequisite(s): One 1000-level History course.
Credits: 3.0