Agenda

Manga, Comics, and Japan: Change and Continuity in the Relationship of Japanese Studies and Manga Studies.

Jaqueline Berndt
Professor in Japanology at Stockholm University
From 1991 to 2016, she taught at Japanese universities. Her primary academic focus is on comics/manga studies, with a special emphasis on media aesthetics.

Abstract: In Japanese studies, the term ‘manga’ is often used as a transmedial label that merges comics with animated film (and other media forms and practices), representing ‘Japanese popular culture’ in a broad sense. In its focus on commonalities, the word itself supports cultural particularization, as seen, for example, in its translation from Japanese as ‘manga’ instead of ‘comics’ or ‘graphic narratives.’ This narrows the view to representations of Japanese culture and society, obscuring not only the institutional layers that mediate those representations but also the historical and contemporary interactions across East Asia. Focusing on representative Japanese and English publications, this talk will survey the relationship between Japanese studies and Manga studies, as it has evolved since the 1980s from Japanese studies serving as manga’s gateway into academia to Japanese studies facilitating manga studies. The limitations and potentials that the latter involves are the key methodological issue of this talk.

Online registration is available
until December 15th 2025
at 8 p.m. (CET) through this link
You will receive a participation link on December 15th after 9 p.m. (CET). If you do not receive the link, please send an email to gesshin@unive.it

Organized by Dario Vitale, Student Association GESSHIN, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

For information:
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E-mail: gesshin@unive.it

This initiative has been financed through Ca Foscari University’s funds for student activities.