How have gender and sexuality shaped the production of literature and visual art in a Japanese context? This course examines Japanese literary and visual culture through the lens of gender and sexuality from the 10th to the 21st century, with attention paid to the intersectional and transnational aspects of these cultural forms. In addition to situating these texts and debates within their historical contexts, we will read closely to understand how their aesthetic properties and political implications overlap. Students will trace how discourses of gender and sexuality emerge at different historical moments and learn how to read and write critically about how they are deployed to different expressive and political ends. Topics to be discussed include aristocratic courtship, medieval prostitution, temple pederasty and religious misogyny, samurai masculinities, erotic woodblock prints, transvestism and gender impersonation in theater, “poison woman” narratives, imperialism and Orientalism, modern feminist debates, queer studies in Japan, and postwar dance. Some previous coursework in literature, Asian studies, visual art, creative writing, art history, or gender studies recommended.
Intended Audience:
This course is designed for advanced undergraduates and Asian studies MA students with interests in literature, visual arts, women's and gender studies, and critical theory. Ideally, the class will be composed of students with background in Japanese culture along with other students with less Asian studies experience, but valuable training from other disciplines. Students in ALC, WGS, Art History, MIRS, Stamps, CWPS, and other related fields/programs are welcome to join!
Class Format:
One 3-hour meeting weekly
Poster for the first iteration of the "Japanese Narrative Design Lab." The "From Handscrolls to Manga" prefix--recommended by a curriculum staffer for manga's appeal and raised enrollment potential--has since been dropped. Image from Samura Hiroaki's Blade of the Immortal.
Undergraduate
Antiracism and Japanese Culture
Classical Japanese
Love and Death in Japanese Culture
East Asian Performance Theory
Japanese Narrative Design Lab
Gender in Japanese Literary and Visual Culture
Introduction to Asian Studies
Japanese Performance Culture
Thesis Seminar for Majors
Graduate
Critical Introduction to Asian Studies
Bodies and Boundaries in Premodern Japan
Critical Theory and Asia: Sovereignty in South Asia and Japan (co-taught with Prof. Arvind-Pal Mandair)
Proseminar in World Performance Studies
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Transcultural Studies
Transcultural Studies Capstone Colloquium