JAPANESE LITERATURE 3

This course is one of the core educational activities for the Japan-focused curriculum of the Bachelor's Degree Programme in Language, Culture and Society of Asia and Mediterranean Africa. It contributes to the attainment of the teaching goals of the same Bachelor's Degree Programme in language skills, but it also invests the cultural and humanities areas. The study of novels and essays will enhance skills in textual analysis and the understanding of historical and cultural contexts.
Abilities concerning the macroscopic development of modern and contemporary Japanese literature constitute the foundations to pursue literary and cultural studies.

Expected learning outcomes:
The course aims to introduce knowledge and understanding of the main literary, artistic and cultural phenomena of contemporary Japan.
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to
Knowledge and comprehension skills
- outline the main elements (authors, movements, works, etc.) of the history of Japanese literature from 1945 to the present day;
- identify and distinguish among the concepts and tools of literary criticism and historiography;
- extend, through the analysis of literary texts, their knowledge and understanding of historical contexts, previously encountered in other subjects of the degree course from a different perspective (e.g. historical, artistic...).

Application and analysis skills:
- analyse and interpret literary texts using critical and historiographical concepts and tools;
- relate literary texts using critical and historiographical concepts and tools;
- critically apply concepts of literary historiography to the period under examination.

Evaluation skills:
- appraise textual and historical-literary phenomena that are part of the programme using critically and historiographically sound arguments;
- assess a variety of sources through critical examination;
- criticise essentialist and stereotypical discourses on 'Japanese culture';

Communication skills:
- concisely and effectively re-elaborate and convey a presentation on a topic of interest in Japanese literature
- debate or present a topic of interest in Japanese literature in accordance to the aforementioned objectives;

Learning skills:
- improve their ability to use the online teaching platform Moodle;
- improve their ability to use Ca’ Foscari University’s bibliographic research tools.

Good knowledge skills of classical and modern Japanese literature, which are expected to be acquired by attendance to "Japanese Literature 1 and 2" courses. It is suggested to take the exam after passing Japanese Literature 2.

This course offers an introduction to contemporary Japanese literature from the end of the Second World War to the present through a selection of representative male and female authors. The course is organized chronologically and thematically, addressing war memory and atomic-bomb literature, postwar reconstruction, the international formation of the Japanese literary canon, urban alienation, the body and desire, women’s writing, short science fiction, social marginality, Okinawan literature, postmodern fiction, linguistic migration, post-Fukushima literature, and new narrative forms in the twenty-first century.

Special attention will be paid to the relationship between literature, history, and collective trauma: Hiroshima, the American occupation, modernization, transformations of the family, gender, internal minorities, the memory of war in Okinawa, the 3.11 disaster, and contemporary precarity. The course privileges short stories, novellas, and brief texts available in Italian or English translation, in order to encourage close reading and seminar discussion. Authors discussed will include Hara Tamiki, Hayashi Fumiko, Mishima Yukio, Kawabata Yasunari, Abe Kōbō, Ōe Kenzaburō, Kōno Taeko, Enchi Fumiko, Hoshi Shin’ichi, Nakagami Kenji, Medoruma Shun, Tsushima Yūko, Murakami Haruki, Tawada Yōko, Ogawa Yōko, Kawakami Hiromi, Murata Sayaka, Oyamada Hiroko, Matsuda Aoko.

G. M. Follaco (ed.), “Cultura letteraria giapponese,” Rome, Hoepli, 2023
Shirane, Haruo, Tomi Suzuki, and David Lurie, “The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature,” 2016. (A selection of chapters to be provided by the instructor)
J. S. Mostow, et al., “The Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature,” New York, Columbia University Press, 2005. (A selection of chapters to be indicated by the instructor after the start of the course)
In-depth articles on individual authors or texts. (will be made available on Moodle)

The complete bibliography of textbooks and reference essays, as well as the short stories and novellas required reading for the exam, will be provided by the instructor before the start of the course.

Written exam (70 min):
- 5 identifications of excerpts from the compulsory reading texts (barrage test). At least 2 correct responses are required. Otherwise, the rest of the exam will not be graded.
- 4 open-ended questions.

Each of the 4 open-ended questions receives a score in 30ths. The overall grade is determined by the average of these questions.
The identification of excerpts contributes to the obtained grade by adding to it a graded bonus-malus ranging from -1 (all answers wrong) to +1 (all answers correct).

The questions aim to assess historical-literary knowledge, comprehension of texts and historical contexts, acquisition of critical tools and analytical skills, and the student's ability to learn, even independently. In particular, the open-ended questions are designed to evaluate their ability to apply knowledge to the discussion of the topics covered and their independence of judgment in their analysis, as well as their ability to express their observations in a concise and effective manner.

written

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

A. Scores in the range of 18-21 will be attributed in the presence of:
Sufficient knowledge and ability to understand applied in reference to the program;
Limited ability to gather and/or interpret information, formulating independent judgments;
Adequate communicative skills, especially concerning the use of specific language related to the description of textual and historical-literary phenomena;
B. Scores in the range of 22-25 will be attributed in the presence of:
Decent knowledge and ability to understand applied in reference to the program;
Decent ability to gather and/or interpret information, formulating independent judgments;
Decent communicative skills, especially concerning the use of specific language related to the description of textual and historical-literary phenomena;
C. Scores in the range of 26-30 will be attributed in the presence of:
Good or excellent knowledge and ability to understand applied in reference to the program;
Good or excellent ability to gather and/or interpret information, formulating independent judgments;
Fully appropriate communicative skills, especially concerning the use of specific language related to the description of textual and historical-literary phenomena;
D. Honors will be awarded in the presence of excellent knowledge and ability to understand applied in reference to the program, judgment skills, and excellent communicative abilities.

Conventional, with power-point presentations.

For the full calendar of seminar classes and the course syllabus, please refer to the documents published on the Moodle page of the course.
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 2026-27 academic year. Starting from 2027-28, a new syllabus will be in use.