- CC 325 BX - Urban Japan: Past and Present
- 3 or 4 Credits
MWF 11:50 am-12:40 pm - Professor Prough
(Cross-listed with EAST 390 AX - fulfills diversity requirement - Instructor permission required)
This seminar will focus on urban life in Japan in both the past and present. In order to target our discussions, we will focus on Kyoto and Tokyo through four units: Heian court life, the rise of Tokyo, the postwar reconstruction of Tokyo, and contemporary Kyoto as living history. Selected readings from literature, history, and anthropology will guide us through the issues inherent in urban life in Japan, drawing on the similarities and differences from our own sense of urban life while tacking back and forth between historical accounts and contemporary incarnations. The highlight of the class will be a 10 day trip to Kyoto the first week of spring break, where we will experience and think together about history and culture, space and place, in contemporary Japan. This class is a research seminar. Following our trip to Japan significant class time will be spent on student research projects, culminating in a 20-25 page research paper on a topic related to Urban Japan: Past and Present.
Required texts:
Booth, Wayne C.; 2003. The Craft of Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [978-0226065663]
Davies, Roger J., and Osamu Ikeno; 2002. The Japanese mind: understanding contemporary Japanese culture. Boston: Tuttle Pub. [ 978-0804832953]
Dougill, John; 2005. Kyoto: A Cultural History, Cityscapes. New York: Oxford University Press. [9780195301380]
Murasaki, Shikibu; 1990. The tale of Genji. Trans. Edward Seidensticker. New York: Vintage Books. [9780679729532]
Seidensticker, Edward; 1983. Low City, High City. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press. [780674539396]
Articles TBD, will be available on blackboard
Prerequisites: This research seminar is open to all students. However, to register for the course, a student must: 1) have completed or audited at least one course on Asia prior to spring 2010; 2) receive recommendation from his/her academic advisor; and, 3) receive approval from Professor Prough. [See application form due 10/25]
Cost: Participation in the spring break trip is required of all registered students. The cost of the trip for students is $800. The Chinese and Japanese Studies Program will cover most of the costs of the field research trip, including international travel and meals/lodging in Kyoto, Japan.
Who Should Apply: This seminar provides an excellent opportunity for upper-level students who are interested in cross-cultural analysis and/or exploring the relevance of his/her field of study in the context Japan. There is no formal language requirement for this class.
Enrollment: Enrollment will be limited to 10.
Registration: Due to the limited space consultation with the instructor is required. Please submit the following application to Professor Prough (Mueller 134) by 5 p.m. Monday October 25th so that decisions can be made before registration begins on November 1, 2010.
If you want to know more about the seminar, please contact Professor Prough (x5492, jennifer.prough@valpo.edu).
