Japanese Culture

I.   Introduction
(vertical group structure, amae)

Film: “Tampopo”

Readings: Kerr Ch 1. the Land, Seymour Martin Lipset: American Exceptionalism  - Japanese Uniqueness

Part I and Part II and Part III

history chart

map

          

II. Family
(Family system and its variants)

Film:  “Sazae San”* (Anime), “Spirited Away”(Anime) SazaeSan II

 Readings: White: Perfectly Japanese, Ochiai: The Truth About the Nuclearization of the Family.

Isono family     lifepatterns

lineage

forms, newforms, types ,
 responses 1 2,
III. Education
(Exams, Ijime bullying, refusal)

Film: “Family Game”*

Readings: Kerr; Ch. 12 Education, Shiizu: Japanese Entrance Exams,Fujimura-Fanslow & Kameda: Women’s Education and Gender Stratification, Allison, Producing Mothers,  Yoneyama & Naito: Problems with the Paradigm: the School as a Factor in Understanding Bullying.		         

Midterm: Wednesday May 7, 2008

IV. Neighborhood/ Community/ Identity
( mult-ethnicity, conflict mediation)

Film:  “Tokyo Godfathers” (Anime - Kabuki) "Tora-san"*

Readings: Lie: Multi-ethnic Japan, Bestor: Conflict and Legitimacy in a Tokyo Neighborhood, Ishida Conflict and Its Accommodations: Omote-Ura and Uchi-Soto Relations

national holidays
V. Religion
(Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, Bushido, emperor worship, Shikoku pilgrimage)

Film: “A Taxing Woman Returns”, “Noh”*

Readings: Nelson: A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine – all, Kisala & Mullins: Religion and Social Crisis in Japan. Pelzel; Human Nature in Japanese Myths, Ames, Bushido: Mode or Ethic? Lamont—Brown: Japan’s Imperial Family: Its role and Meaning in Modern Japan.

pinegate

religious opinion
        
            

VI. Social Behavior
(etiquette, special meanings)

Film: “Japanese Tea Ceremony”* (ocha), “Lover’s Exile” (bunraku)

Readings: Kerr: Ch. 4 Information, Befu An Ethnography of a Dinner Entertainment in Japan, Mori Cosmic Tea Bowl: The Ritual Serving of Food and Drink in Japan.
tea history
tea ceremony

Written Assignment films Due:  Wednesday May 21, 2008

Written assignment readings Due: June 2, 2008.

Final June 9, 2008 7-10:00 am.


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