An343 Syllabus: Manga and Anime - Digital Culture in Japan

800.995.2300 312.944.1448 fax [email protected] AN343 MANGA AND ANIM E: DIGITAL CULTURE CULTURE IN CONTEMPORARY CONTEMPORARY JAPAN IES Tokyo Syllabus DESCRIPTION : As an anthropological study of Japanese popular culture, this course explores the meaningful dimensions of Japanese manga (comics) and animation, known collectively as “anime.”  Anime is one of the most important culture products of postwar Japan, and is today one of the most celebrated global phenomena that affects the collective imagination of many of people throughout the world, especially youngsters. This course will trace the historical trajectory of anime, while uncovering the mechanism in which popular characters and fantastic stories are created in a form of contemporary folklore. The course will also cover theoretical issues as it approaches overarching themes such as fantasy, semiosis, metamorphosis, selfhood, idolatry, fandom, eroticism and the romantic. These issues will be examined in relationship with prominent producers including Osamu Tezuka, Hayao Miyazaki, and Rumiko Takahashi, and the system of production that they instituted. Some classes are planned outside classroom, where proper fieldworks can be conducted. (3 credits) INSTRUCTOR : Hiroshi Aoyagi LANGUAGE OF PRESENTATI PRESENTATI ON: ON : English, with Japanese vocabulary REQUIR ED WORK AN D FORM OF ASSESS ASSESSMENT MENT:: 1) Class Participation (10%): Students will be evaluated on the bases of how professionally they could participate in class discussions and demonstrate their understanding of the subjects that are covered in the course. 2) Journals (15%): Two journal entries during the coursework, three to five pages each. 3) Field Study Reports (15%): Two reports (two to three pages each). 4) Research Proposal (25%): Three to six page research summary of the student’s research theme. 5) Research Paper (35%): One 10-15 page paper on proposed research theme. CONTENT: CONTENT : 1. Introduction to the course: What is anime? Why study anime? PART ONE: Historical Trajectory 2. The development of manga during ancient and classic periods 3. Edo and Meiji caricatures 4. The role of anime in the formation of pictocentric culture of postwar Japan Journal 1 due PART TWO: Prominent Anthropological Themes in the Study of Anime 5. The religiosity of anime: fetishism, idolatry and symbolic production 6. Anime as Japanese youth subculture 7. Field Study 1: Exploring the Comic Market of Akihabara (Date/Time TBA) 8. The romantic and the erotic: gender a nd sexuality in Japanese anime subculture Field Study Report 1 due 9. Ethnicity and nationality in Japanese animation PART THREE: The Field of Anime Production 10. Case Study #5: examining the ethnography of pop culture (2): Jennifer Robertson’s work on Takarazuka all-female theater: thinking about the popular cultural representations of gender, sex, and sexuality Journal 2 due 11. The shadow economy of anime fans 12. Anime and globalization: Japanese fantasies abroad Research Proposal due 13. Field Study 2: Pilgrimage through Ghibli Museum, Mitaka (Date/Time TBA) www.IESabroad.org

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800.995.2300 312.944.1448 fax [email protected] PART FOUR: Workshops on the Ethnography of Japanese Anime 14. Workshop #1: organizing an ethnographic research project: from library search to fieldwork planning Field Study Report 2 due 15. Workshop #2: ethnographic description and analysis Final Research Paper due REQUIRED READINGS: READINGS: Napier, Susan (2001). Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. St. Martins’s Press. Schodt, Fredrick (1996). Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern M anga.Stone Bridge Press. Skov, Lise and Moeran, Brian (eds.) (1995). Women, Media and Consumption in Japan University of  Hawai’i Press. .

RECOMMENDED READINGS: READINGS: Bailey, Adrian (1982). Walt Disney’s World of Fantasy. New York: Everest House. Clements, Jonathan, and McCarthy, Helen (2001). The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. Craig, Timothy (ed.)(2000). Japan Pop!: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture. New York: M.E. Sharpe. Drazen, Patrick (2003). Anime Explosion! The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. Kinsella, Sharon (2000). Adult Manga: Culture and Power in Contemporary Japanese Society. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Ledoux, Trish (ed.)(1997). Anime Interviews: The First Five Years of Animerica "Anamerica, Anime and Manga Monthly" (1992-1997). (1992-1997). Viz Communications. Ledoux, Trish, Ranney, Doug, and Patten, Fred (eds.)(1997). The Complete Anime Guide: Japanese Animation Film Directory and Resource Guide. Guide . Issaquah: Tiger Mountain Press. Levi, Antonia (1998). Samurai from Outer Space: Understanding Japanese Animation. Chicago: Open Court Publishing. Martinez, Dolores (1998). The Worlds of Japanese Popular Culture: Gender, Shifting Boundaries and Global Cultures. New York: Cambridge University Press. McCarthy, Helen (1999). Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. Miyazaki, Hayao (ed.)(2002). The Art of Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. Viz Communications. Nagatomo, Haruno (2004). Draw Your Own Manga: All the Basics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Poitras, Poitras, Gilles (1999). The Anime Companion: What’s Japanese in Japanese Animation? Berekeley: Stone Bridge Press. ---------- (2001). Anime Essentials: Everything Everything a Fan Needs to Know. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. Schilling, Mark (1997). The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture. New York: Weatherhill Books.