MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE LITERATURE

This is one of the characterising courses within the "Japan" curriculum of the Corso di Laurea Magistrale in"Lingue e Civiltà dell'Asia e dell'Africa Mediterranea".
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 some knowledge on the history of Japanese women's modern and contemporary literature; 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 with theoretical tools; 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 concepts and tools from the fields of literary criticism
- 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 "joryū bungaku") 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 write an essay of analysis of a literary text with the appropriate use of critical theory
- to express and re-elaborate the contents of the program in oral 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 and Japanese

It is desirable that the students possess already a good knowledge of modern and contemporary Japanese literature, acquired through (however not exclusively) the credits of Japanese Literature during the undergraduate program. Ability of reading a literary text in Japanese.

Japanese modern and contemporary literature written by women (1880ies-1990ies)

The program of the course consist of two parts:

1) Introduction to gender and feminist theory and their intersections.

2) exercise of close reading and analysis of fictional texts. In specific novels by:
a) Enchi Fumiko (1905-1986)
b) Kurahashi Yumiko (1935-2005)
c) Tawada Yōko (1960)


Lessons will roughly follow this schedule:
1) Introduction to theory, especially linked to gender studies.
2) Enchi Fumiko's works: case study of literary analysis and close reading
3) Kurahashi Yumiko's works: case study of literary analysis and close reading
4) Tawada Yoko's works: case study of literary analysis and close reading

Reading texts (possibly before the relevant lesson, in this order):

Moro, Daniela. Trad. di Lydia Origlia. ‘Onnazaka: vite all'ombra di una famiglia patrilineare’’, “Onnazaka”. Pordenone, Safarà, pp. 209-223 (2017)
Moro, Daniela. Otoko no hone: "Ossa di Maschio". Traduzione non pubblicata (Tra i materiali nel moodle)
Moro, Daniela. Ano ie: "Quella casa". Traduzione non pubblicata (Tra i materiali nel moodle)
Kurahashi Yumiko. Sakaki, Atsuko (Ed. e Trad.): "The Long Passage of Dreams". In: "The Woman with the Flying Head and Other Stories", London; New York: Routledge (1998)
Kurahashi Yumiko. Sakaki, Atsuko (Ed. e Trad.): "The Witch Mask". In: "The Woman with the Flying Head and Other Stories", London; New York: Routledge (1998)
Moro, Daniela.“Persona”. Venezia: Libreria Editrice Cafoscarina (2018)

GENERAL PART

Suggested Bibliography:

Barry, Peter, “Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory”, 3rd edition, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2009.
(Ed.) Sarah Gamble, The Routledge Companion to Feminism and Postfeminism, 2001
(Ed.)Jane Pilcher, Imelda Whelehan, 50 Key Concepts in Gender Studies, Sage, 2004
(Ed.) Simon Malpas, Pail Wake, The Routledge Companion to Critical Theory, 2006
(Ed.) David Herman, Manfred Jahn, Marie-Laure Ryan, Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory, 2005
The living handbook of narratology (ONLINE) https://www.lhn.uni-hamburg.de/

Compulsory bibliography (for non-participants):

Butler, Judith. Gender trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York and London: Routledge Classics ([1990] 2006) (only first chapter)
Simone de Beauvoir, Il secondo sesso. Il Saggiatore ([1949]2008, 2017) (Only first chapter)
Susan Sontag, Saturday Review of the Society, “Women and the double standard of ageing” (23/09/1972)
Ericson, Joan E . ‘The Origins of the Concept of “Women’s Literature”’. “The Woman’s Hand: Gender and Theory in Japanese Women’s Writing”, Paul Gordon Schalow, Janet A. Walker (a cura di). Stanford: Stanford University Press (1996)

For participants in class alle the SLIDES related to theory are COMPULSORY for the exam

PARTE DI CASE STUDY

Compulsory bibliography (NON PARTICIPANTS):

Moro, Daniela. Trad. di Lydia Origlia. ‘Onnazaka: vite all'ombra di una famiglia patrilineare’’, “Onnazaka”. Pordenone, Safarà (2017) POSTFAZIONE
Moro, Daniela. A Dream to Challenge the 'World of dreams'. Evanescence and Desire in "Ano ie" (1953) by Enchi Fumiko , Death and Desire in Contemporary Japan. Representing, Practicing, Performing, Venezia, Edizioni Ca’ Foscari - Digital Publishing, vol. 6, pp. 185-201
Moro, Daniela. ‘Il teatro, la maschera e lo sguardo nell’opera di Kurahashi Yumiko : 'Nagai yumeji' (1968)’. “Riflessioni sul Giappone antico e moderno”, Maria Chiara Migliore, Antonio Manieri, Stefano Romagnoli (a cura di). Roma: Aracne, vol. 2, pp. 127-144 (2016)
Moro, Daniela.“Persona”. Venezia: Libreria Editrice Cafoscarina (2018)

For PARTICIPANTS ALL SLIDES about CASE STUDIES are COMPULSORY

The achievement of the objectives of the course will be evaluated as follows:

1) a short essay (max 3000 words, 50% of the final mark) elaborated individually, focusing on the analysis/commentary of a work chosen by the student among any texts from the period covered by the course that has not been analyzed in class. In case the work has already been analyzed in class, the essay must have an exhaustive bibliography and aim at different objectives than the analysis in class. The essay will be submitted before the oral exam This part of the exam evaluates the capacity of the student to apply the knowledge and skills acquired through the course and his/her communicative skills and autonomy of judgement.

2) an oral exam (50% of the final mark) focusing on the general part of the program, as well as on the discussion of the short essay. Starting from a topic of his/her choice, the student is supposed to show his/her knowledge of the topics covered in the syllabus and to present them in a properly formalized way.

Frontal lessons + seminar activities.
Attendance and participation during classes will not be evaluated, but are nevertheless strongly encouraged.

Italian

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

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.

written and oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development