Course Description:
This course explores post WWII Japanese music, literature, artistic media, and hi-tech products. Investigates social themes ranging from post-holocaust Japanese hedonism to childhood fantasies by looking at Manga comic books, Anime animated movies, and popular music from Enka to J-Pop to Karaoke, as well as fashion and style, popular technology, consumerism, and environmental issues. Explores the evolution of pop culture and its impact on society. Taught in English.
Units: 4
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Reflective Narrative:
JAPN 308 fulfilled MLO2 because this class taught us to appreciate the more modern aspects of Japanese culture through class discussions with Japanese exchange students as we compared our own culture with theirs. One of the topics which we touched on was the idea of kawaii and how it is so different from the English word "cute" (take-home quiz). Later on in the semester, I decided to go into more detail on the different forms of kawaii that there is in Japan, such as kimo-kawaii, busu-kawaii, etc for a group project (ppt). For my final paper (doc) and presentation (see below), I chose the topic of tarento (tv personalities) in Japanese pop-culture. The format of television programs in the United States and Japan is extremely different so it was interesting to learn of the exact role of tarento in Japanese television.
JAPN 308 fulfilled MLO2 because this class taught us to appreciate the more modern aspects of Japanese culture through class discussions with Japanese exchange students as we compared our own culture with theirs. One of the topics which we touched on was the idea of kawaii and how it is so different from the English word "cute" (take-home quiz). Later on in the semester, I decided to go into more detail on the different forms of kawaii that there is in Japan, such as kimo-kawaii, busu-kawaii, etc for a group project (ppt). For my final paper (doc) and presentation (see below), I chose the topic of tarento (tv personalities) in Japanese pop-culture. The format of television programs in the United States and Japan is extremely different so it was interesting to learn of the exact role of tarento in Japanese television.