Un/Seeing Japan

Picture Japan in your mind’s eye. What do you see? How do your visions compare with stereotypical images of Japan and Japanese culture? This course draws on concepts of sight and seeing in order to explore un/familiar visions of Japan in cultural productions across time and space. We’ll explore how the trope of seeing has been evoked to create tension and desire in the visual arts, from the illustrated scrolls of the Tale of Genji to western-influenced Meiji postcards. We’ll also analyze literary and cinematic depictions of Japan, discussing how certain sociological and cultural phenomena have been rendered acutely in/visible by stigmatization, from historical burakumin discrimination to bullying in contemporary schools.