Advanced Topics in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Literature and Culture (322-0-20)
Topic
Art and Activism in Modern Japan
Instructors
Patrick James Noonan
847/467-0283
Kresge Hall - Office 4-550
Office Hours: Varies quarter to quarter, please check with instructor.
Meeting Info
Kresge Centennial Hall 2-435: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
AY25: This course examines the relationship between arts and politics in modern Japan. We will examine examples of how art has been conceived as a form of political activism and how social movements have, in turn, shaped cultural and aesthetic forms. The course will move chronologically while exploring a set of historically persistent questions: How have art and politics been defined as distinct or overlapping realms of human activity? What is the relationship between aesthetic form and political ideologies? How is artistic production itself a form of social organization and engagement? We will consider, among other topics, how transnational anarchism and struggles for democracy in the late 19th century shaped the modern novel; feminist literature and proletarian arts movements; fascist aesthetics; practices of democracy in the postwar avant-garde; afro-Japanese solidarities and cultural exchange; the intersection of art and social protest in the 1960s; and the role of the arts in anti-nuclear movements. Drawing from an array of disciplinary perspectives, this course investigates how the arts have been used to imagine and enact social change on local, national, and global scales. Syllabus subject to change.
Learning Objectives
1. To develop a working knowledge of major political and artistic movements in modern Japanese history
2. To reflect critically on the relationship between art and politics
3. To become conversant in the political and discursive stakes of aesthetic media through group discussion, written assignments, and verbal presentation
4. To improve skills of interpreting aesthetic objects in different media
5. To learn how to complete basic research combining political and aesthetic approaches to the study of Asia as part of a final project
Teaching Method
Lecture and discussion
Evaluation Method
Class Participation, Discussion posts, Midterm Essay, Final Essay
Class Materials (Required)
All Materials are available as PDFs on Canvas
Class Attributes
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area