CULTURAL STUDIES OF EAST ASIA (JAPAN)

This course aims to offer an introduction to critical theory in relation to issues of identity/alterity, culture and power (Cultural Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Critical Race Studies).
The overall aim is to offer conceptual and interpretative tools for an advanced understanding of globalising dynamics of Japanese cultures, with a specific focus on the Italian context, and to train participants in oral and written presentation skills.

Knowledge and understanding:
- to know and understand main aspects of issues related to the construction of 'Japanese' alterity in Italian, Euro-american and global contexts
- to know and understand concepts and tools from the fields of cultural studies and postcolonial studies within an inter-disciplinary perspective
- to critically link the topics of the course to knowledge and understanding of Japanese contexts, that may have already been studied in other teachings from different points of view (e.g. historical, artistic, religious, etc.)

Applying knowledge and understanding:
- to analyze and interpret literary topics of the course by employing concepts from the fields of cultural and postcolonial studies
- to apply concepts of critical theory within an interdisciplinary perspective

Making judgements:
- to produce critical judgments on cultural and social issues that are part of the program by using informed and solid arguments
- to subject various types of sources (statistic, academic, alternative) to critical examination within a comparative, trans-cultural and global prespective
- to refine the capacity to criticize essentialist and stereotypical discourses on "Japanese culture" or "Japanese society"

Communication:
- to express and elaborate the contents of the program in written form, in a synthetic and effective way, without depending on automatic, schematic and 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, academic articles, alternative sources)
- to be able to independently study materials and topics not covered during the lectures
- to refine the ability to study materials in English
- to refine the ability to use the online teaching platform

None

'Japan' made in Italy:

1. Introduction to key concepts of critical theory (Cultural Studies, Postcolonial Studies).
2. Introduction to concepts of race/ethnicity and whiteness/yellowness (Critical Race Studies).
3. Discussion of representations, discourses and practices related to the 'Orient/Asia' and 'Orientals/Asians, 'Japan' and 'the Japanese' in global, euro-american and Italian contexts.
4. Group research, analysis and oral presentation; individual research, analysis and written paper.

Attendees:
see Moodle platform ("Bibliografia - frequentanti")

Non-attendees:
1. Theory:
- Hall, Stuart (ed., 1997), "Introduction", "The Work of Representation", in S. Hall (ed.), Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, London: Sage Publications & Open University, pp. 1-74.
- Said, Edward (1979), "Introduction", in E. Said, Orientalism, New York: Vintage Books, pp. 1-28.
- Lazarus, Neil (2004), "The fetish of "the West" in postcolonial theory", in C. Bartolovich, N. Lazarus (eds.), Marxism, Modernity and Postcolonial Studies, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 43-64.

2. "East/Asia", "West", "Japan": identity/alterity, race, culture and nation:
- Miyake, Toshio (2014), "Occidentalismo, orientalismo, auto-orientalismo, doppio orientalismo del Giappone", in T. Miyake, Mostri del Giappone. Narrative, figure, egemonie della dis-locazione identitaria, Venezia: Edizioni Ca' Foscari, pp. 31-37, 120-130.
- Kubota, Ryuko (2003), "Critical Teaching of Japanese Culture", Japanese Language and Literature, Vol. 37, No. 1, Special Issue: Sociocultural Issues in Teaching Japanese: Critical Approaches, pp. 67-87.
- Tai, Eika (2003), "Rethinking Culture, National Culture, and Japanese Culture", Japanese Language and Literature, Vol. 37, No. 1, Special Issue: Sociocultural Issues in Teaching Japanese: Critical Approaches, pp. 1-26.
- Ching, Leo (1998), "Yellow skin, white masks: Race, class, and identification in Japanese colonial discourse", in Kuan-Hsing Chen (ed.), Trajectories. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 56-75.
- Lyne, Sandra (2002), "Consuming Madame Chrysanthème: Loti's 'dolls' to Shanghai Baby, Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context, Issue 8, October 2002 (http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue8/lyne.html )
- Matsukawa, Yuko (2019), "Cross-dressing as whitewashing: the Kimono Wednesdays protests and the erasure of Asian/ American bodies", Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 20:4, pp. 582-595.
- Hirose, Akihiko; Pih, Kay Kei-Ho (2011), " ‘No Asians working here’: racialized otherness and authenticity in gastronomical Orientalism", Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34:9, pp. 1482-1501.
- Bow, Leslie (2019), "Racist Cute- Caricature, Kawaii -Style, and the Asian Thing", American Quarterly, Volume 71, Number 1, pp. 29-58.

3. "Japan" in Italy:
- Miyake, Toshio (2018), " Il Giappone made in Italy. Civiltà, nazione, razza nell'orientalismo italiano", in M. Cestari, G. Coci, D. Moro, A. Specchio (a cura di), Orizzonti giapponesi: ricerche, idee, prospettive, Roma: Aracne, pp. 607– 627.
- Somma, Anna Lisa (2016), " "Una perfetta giapponese": la costruzione japonisant del Giappone e della musmè ne La veste di crespo di Matilde Serao", Lingue Culture Mediazioni, Vol. 3, N. 2, pp. 135-153.
- Lolli, Dario (2009), "Orientalizing Football: The Transnational Experience of Nakata Hidetoshi", Tesi di Master, Birkbeck-University of London, pp, 1-56.

Further readings will be presented in classes and will be available together with the slides of the lessons on the Moodle platform (see "Letture consigliate", "Teorie, concetti, termini chiave").

Attendees:
- 3 reports during the course on the contents discussed in class and on the assigned readings (25% final grade)
- group presentation (25% final grade)
- individual essay to be discussed during exams sessions (50% final grade)

Non-attendees:
- written test on all the assigned readings (50% final grade)
- individual essay (50% final grade)
For further details on how to write the essay, please refer to Moodle: "Indicazioni generali per la stesura della tesina (Miyake)"
In case of enduring Covid-19 emergency, the written test will be replaced by an oral test/discussion on the lessons/reference texts and individual essay, done remotely (Google Meet).
English language can be used both for the discussion (or written test) and the individual essay.

Lecture/seminar.
Attendance at each class meeting is expected. Students will be required to complete the assigned readings before coming to class, to present them and to participate actively in discussions.

Italian

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