Many people are interested in Japan, whether for anime or manga or sushi. They might have two distinct images of the country: one filled with samurai and another filled with skyscrapers. The transition from one to the other has been understood as "modernization," but what do we mean by "modernity"? How, when, and why did Japan experience this process? Of course, Japan was not the only country that experienced such a transition; the entire world was changed by the process, including Seattle. More importantly, the changes experienced by Seattle and this country across the Pacific were intimately connected.

In this discovery seminar, we will be exploring these issues through the media of film and literature. Through these works, we will see how individuals in Japan made sense of the radical changes they were experiencing as they joined a new world system, largely (but not completely) dominated by nation-states, science & technology, cultural exchange, market economics, imperialist expansion, and new ideologies of identity. As we examine the particular case of Japan, we will think about the similarities and differences we note with other regions and groups, including those in the United States, and within the spaces we think of as homogeneous.

We will not be spending all our time in the classroom, though. Each week we will make excursions into the city to see traces of the connected experiences of Japan and Seattle throughout this period. This will reveal the intertwined experiences of the two places in the modern period, which is always already hybrid.

No prior knowledge of Japan or the Japanese language is necessary. The seminar will be discussion-based and collaborative, with students giving each other feedback on brief writing assignments and discussing the films and stories in class. In the process, we will also discuss strategies for succeeding at the University, both academically and personally.

Learn more about the instructor of this course:

Professor Ted Mack, Asian Languages and Literature

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