Description:
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This course examines contemporary media culture and products as a conceptual lens to focus on Japanese pop culture and soft power in the 21st Century. Manga, Anime, Cinema, literature, performance art, music, and fine arts will all be surveyed with an eye to understanding what exactly is cool and different about Japanese creative work and whether these kinds of cultural exports could become the foundation of a new post-industrial Japanese economy.
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Course Narrative
This course was a culture course that focused mostly on modern and popular culture in Japan. From art to technology, the class covered a variety of elements of modern Japan. We discussed a variety of elements of Japan, involving modernity, the relevance and the historical prevalence of each element. Much of the major assignments given were group presentations, in which the group researched some perspective of Japan that was unique to the class, meaning that they did not repeat what others were already doing. In this class I developed an understanding of current Japanese culture and its relevance to everyday life in Japan. As it held a modern perspective, I got a clearer understanding of how Japan’s popular customs and culture are different from what I was previously familiar with. As this class went over cultural customs through time, starting from the Edo period – for example artwork – I learned about how the customs in Japan changed, influenced by China and later by other countries. I want to develop my understanding of history more, to gain more knowledge and understanding of the culture of today, through understanding its history. My goal is to understand through an anthropological stance why today’s popular culture is the way it is and why it is made popular in Japan. This class faced my curiosities with what is considered popular in Japan, that would otherwise be unpopular in other cultures and countries. But, I would like to further my understanding by understanding the way people in Japan think about popular culture, historical culture, and historical events. Through future endeavors in Japan, I intend to further my understanding through in person conversation, as well as with literature research.
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