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Winter 2018

 

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Japanese (JPN)
308 Friendly, 541-346-4041
East Asian Languages & Literatures
College of Arts & Sciences
Course Data
  JPN 250   + Dis >1 >IC 0.00 cr.
Surveys the 1,000-year history of visual-verbal narratives—comics—in Japan, ranging from medieval picture to modern manga.
Grading Options: Optional; see degree guide or catalog for degree requirements
Instructor: Tokuyama CE-mail
Course Materials
 
  CRN Avail Max Time Day Location Instructor Notes

+ Dis

26757 2 25 1700-1750 r 101 VIL Tokuyama C  
 
Associated Sections

Lecture

26755 4 50 1400-1520 mw 102 DEA Walley T  
Academic Deadlines
Deadline     Last day to:
January 7:   Process a complete drop (100% refund, no W recorded)
January 14:   Drop this course (100% refund, no W recorded)
January 14:   Process a complete drop (90% refund, no W recorded)
January 15:   Drop this course (75% refund, no W recorded; after this date, W's are recorded)
January 15:   Process a complete drop (75% refund, no W recorded; after this date, W's are recorded)
January 17:   Add this course
January 17:   Last day to change to or from audit
January 21:   Withdraw from this course (75% refund, W recorded)
January 28:   Withdraw from this course (50% refund, W recorded)
February 4:   Withdraw from this course (25% refund, W recorded)
February 25:   Withdraw from this course (0% refund, W recorded)
February 25:   Change grading option for this course
Caution You can't drop your last class using the "Add/Drop" menu in DuckWeb. Go to the “Completely Withdraw from Term/University” link to begin the complete withdrawal process. If you need assistance with a complete drop or a complete withdrawal, please contact the Office of Academic Advising, 101 Oregon Hall, 541-346-3211 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday). If you are attempting to completely withdraw after business hours, and have difficulty, please contact the Office of Academic Advising the next business day.

Expanded Course Description
This course looks at the thousand-year history of visual-verbal narratives – comics – in Japan. In particular we will concentrate on three forms of visual-verbal literature: the narrative picture scrolls of the classical and medieval period (ca. 11th-16th centuries), the “yellowback” comic books of the early modern period (18th-19th centuries), and the manga of the 20th-21st centuries.

The course is organized around three major objectives. The first is to trace the development of visual-verbal literature from the earliest narrative picture scrolls to the most contemporary manga. Although we will be exploring the origins of manga (i.e., modern Japanese comics), equal weight will be given to premodern texts in order to illuminate the rich tradition of comics and comics-like narratives in Japan.

The second objective is to give students a one-term introduction to Japanese cultural history from the classical period to the present, with comics as the unifying thread. In the process this course will take in the popular culture elements that students may expect from a comics course. In addition, however, the history of visual-verbal narratives will lead students to encounters with some of the most important examples of high culture in Japan’s history. We will consider the relationship of comics to Japanese fiction, poetry, painting, printing, theater, and film.

The third objective is to locate a discussion of comics within larger discourses on humanities. Is comics studies closer to literary history or art history? How does it relate to theater and cinema? Are comics necessarily a form of popular culture, or can they be the products of an elite for an elite? What kinds of relationships can exist between text and image? Students will be asked to consider these and other disciplinary questions surrounding literary and comics studies.

All readings, lectures, and discussions will be conducted in English. No prior knowledge of Japan or Japanese is required. The course’s focus on defining comics as a medium, and relating it to other forms of cultural production, allow it to satisfy Group I – Arts and Letters – requirements. The course’s focus on visual-verbal narratives of Japan, a country whose cultural history is both widely divergent from and highly relevant to the experience of the modern West, allows it to satisfy the requirements for the International Cultures category of the multicultural category.

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