Summer 2003

ANS s302J • Introduction to Japan

Course Description

This course examines various sociocultural issues related to premodern and modern Japan, including family and kinship, religion, language, customs and lifestyles, political economy, education, as well as arts and performances. In doing so, it will introduce students to interpretive models and approaches in the anthropological studies of Japan. The main goal of this course is to provide students with tools to analyze Japanese social organization and cultural identity. Students will also critically examine the way in which Japanese culture and society are represented by researchers in the English-speaking world vis-à-vis at home.

Texts

Dower, John (1986). Japanese History and Culture: From Ancient to ModernTimes. Hendry, Joy (1995). Understanding Japanese Society (Second Edition) Lebra, Takie and Lebra, William (eds.)(1986). Japanese Culture and Behavior: Selected Readings (Revised Edition). Honolulu: U. Hawaii Press. Okimoto, Daniel and Rohlen, Thomas (eds.)(1991). Inside the Japanese System: Readings in Contemporary Society and Political Economy. Vlastos, Stephen (ed.)(1998). Mirror of Modernity: Invented Traditions of Modern Japan.

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