COMP 252
The Masks of Japanese Literature Fall 2009
Division I Exploring Diversity Initiative
Cross-listed JAPN 252
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

From the masks of the noh theater to science fiction fantasies of plastic surgery and cyborg identity, this course examines the device of the mask in modern Japanese fiction, as well as some of its premodern antecedents. The fictional masks we will look at range from the traditional to the technological, from the actual to the metaphorical, from the physical to the purely psychological. But all of them are used by the authors to explore the nature of identity, and the significance of concealing or revealing the self, either in fiction or face to face. This course considers diversity by giving careful thought to the nature of personal and cultural identity, and to how different individuals express those identities through language. Readings will include modern novels and short stories by Abe Kôbô, Enchi Fumiko, Endô Shûsaku, Kurahashi Yumiko, Mishima Yukio, Tanizaki Jun’ichirô, and Oscar Wilde. Visual texts will include noh and puppet theater, avant-garde film by Teshigahara Hiroshi, comics by Tezuka Osamu, and animation by Oshii Mamoru. The class and the readings are in English. No familiarity with Japanese language or culture is required.
The Class: Format: lecture/discussion
Limit: none
Expected: 15
Class#: 1289
Grading: yes pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: in-class exam, ungraded creative project, and two short papers (5-7 pages each) emphasizing original, creative, and convincing readings of the class texts
Prerequisites: none
Distributions: Division I Exploring Diversity Initiative
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
COMP 252 Division I JAPN 252 Division I
Attributes: INST East Asian Studies Electives

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