JAPANESE LITERATURE 2

This is one of the core courses within the "Japan" curriculum of the Bachelor's Degree Programme in "Language, Culture and Society of Asia and Mediterranean Africa".
The course contributes to the attainment of the teaching goals of the Corso di Laurea in the area of language skills, but it also invests the cultural and humanities areas.
The main goals of the course are: to provide knowledge on the history of Japanese literature between 1868 and 1945; to provide tools for the analysis and discussion of literary phenomena; to make the students acquire the skills to analyze the literary texts covered in the course; to develop the judgement faculty and the skills to produce and communicate a piece of interpretive discourse on the themes of the course.

Knowledge and understanding:
- to know and understand the main aspects (authors, movements, works, etc.) in the history of Japanese literature between 1868 and 1945
- to know and understand concepts and tools from the fields of literary criticism and historiography
- to deepen the knowledge and understanding of historical contexts through the analysis of literary texts. The historical context may have already been studied in other teachings from different points of view (e.g. historical, artistic ...)

Applying knowledge and understanding:
- to analyze and interpret literary texts by using concepts and tools from the fields of literary criticism and historiography
- to critically apply concepts from literary historiography (eg "canon formation") to the historical period studied in the course

Making judgements:
- to produce critical judgments on the textual and historical-literary phenomena that are part of the program by using arguments that are critically and historically sound
- to subject various types of sources (academic and creative texts) to critical examination
- to perfect one's capacity to criticize essentialist and stereotypical discourses on "Japanese culture"

Communication:
- to express and re-elaborate the contents of the program in written form, in a synthetic and effective way, without resorting to automatisms and schematisms resulting from a mnemonic study

Lifelong learning skills:
- to know how to take notes in an effective way
- to know how to critically integrate the study of different materials (notes, slides, manuals, creative texts, academic articles)
- to be able to independently study materials and topics not covered during the lectures
- to refine one's ability to study materials in English
- to refine one's ability to use the online teaching platform

It is desirable that the students possess already a good knowledge of premodern Japanese literature, acquired through (however not exclusively) attending the "Japanese Literature 1" class.

The course will cover the history of Japanese literature from the 19th century to the beginning of WWII. Special emphasis will be placed on the years between 1905 and 1937.
Lesson 1: "History" of "Japanese" "Literature": a preliminary problematization.
Lessons 2-7: genres, currents, and practices in Japanese literature of the Meiji era (1868-1912). Study and discussion of canonical writers and works.
Lessons 7-12: genres, currents, and practices in Japanese literature of the Taisho era (1912-1926). Study and discussion of canonical writers and works.
Lessons 12-15: genres, currents, and practices in Japanese literature of the Showa era (1926-1945). Study and discussion of canonical writers and works.

Reference:

Remo Ceserani, "Guida breve allo studio della letteratura", Roma ; Bari, Laterza, 2008 (selected entries from the "glossary")

P. Zanotti, "Introduzione alla storia della poesia giapponese, vol. 2: Dall’Ottocento al Duemila", Venezia, Marsilio, 2012. (capp. 1-11)

L. Bienati, P. Scrolavezza, "La narrativa giapponese moderna e contemporanea", Venezia, Marsilio, 2009. (capp. 1-14)

H. Shirane, et al., "The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature", Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2016. (una selezione di capitoli forniti dal docente)

J. S. Mostow, et al., "The Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature", New York, Columbia University Press, 2005. (una selezione di capitoli forniti dal docente)


Literary works in translation:

1) L. Bienati, et al. (a cura di), "Letterario, troppo letterario: Antologia della critica giapponese moderna", Venezia, Marsilio, 2016. (except chapt. 8, 12-14)

2) Mori Ogai, "L'oca selvatica", a cura di L. Costantini, Venezia, Marsilio, 2005.

3) Natsume Sōseki, "Sanshirō", a cura di M. T. Orsi, Venezia, Marsilio, 2001.

4) Tayama Katai, "Il futon", tr. di I. Ingegneri, Venezia, Marsilio, 2015.

5) Tanizaki Jun’ichirō, "Il ponte dei sogni", Milano, Bompiani, 2000.

6) Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, "Rashōmon e altri racconti", tr. di A. Pastore et al., Torino, Einaudi, 2016.

7) Hagiwara Sakutarō, “Abbaiare alla luna”, a cura di I. Sagiyama, in "Il Giappone", 23, 1983, pp. 75-124. (available on moodle)

8) Edogawa Ranpo, "La poltrona umana e altri racconti", a cura di F. Vitucci, Roma, Atmosphere Libri, 2018.

9) Kawabata Yasunari, "La banda di Asakusa", tr. di C. Pes, Torino, Einaudi, 2007.

10) Kobayashi Takiji, "Il peschereccio di granchi", Rivoli, Neos, 2010.

11) Nakajima Atsushi, "Cronaca della luna sul monte e altri racconti", a cura di G. Amitrano, Venezia, Marsilio, 2003.

Further readings will be provided by the lecturer.

Written test (90 mins):
- 6 open-ended questions (short essays, max 150 words each); one questions will specifically address Ceserani's manual.
- 5 multiple-choice questions (no point are subtracted in case of wrong answers).
- 5 identifications of excerpts taken from the compulsory creative texts.

The 6 open questions each receive a score in 30/30. The overall vote for this part is the average of these answers.
The quiz and the recognition parts contribute to the final score thus obtained by adding to it a bonus-malus comprised between -1 (all wrong answers) and +1 (all answers are correct)

Conventional, with powerpoint presentations.
Bibliography, presentations and further readings are available on the moodle platform.

See: "moodle" for powerpoint presentations of the lessons, syllabus and further materials.

For organizational reasons and in order to assure the quality of the teaching, the students are recommended to follow the alphabetical partitions.

This exam (with this syllabus) will be available only for the 4 "appelli" of the 2018-19 academic year. Starting from 2019-20, a new syllabus will be in use.

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