HISTORY OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE THOUGHT

This course falls within the characterizing teachings of the "Japan" curriculum of the course "Language and Civilisation of Asia and Mediterranean Africa".
Its formative objectives are within the area of cultural and humanistic skills learning.

Knowledge and understanding:
- to know and understand the heterogeneity and the complexity of the discourses and the languages that characterize the religious experience in modern and contemporary Japan.
- to know and understand concepts and tools from the fields of religious studies;
- to deepen, through the analysis of religious texts and rituals, knowledge and understanding of Japanese contexts, that may have already been studied in other teachings from different points of view (e.g. historical, artistic, literary, etc.), being able to understand the interrelation between the religious doctrines and the social context in the modern and contemporary periods.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
- to be able to analyze and interpret the philosophical and religious texts;
- to be able to critically apply the analytical tools of religious studies.

Judgment skills:
- to be able to elaborate, in a personal and well-articulated manner, a critical analysis of the religious phenomena examined during the course;
- to subject various types of sources (statistic, academic, alternative) to critical examination;
- to refine the capacity to criticize essentialist and stereotypical discourses on "oriental religions".

Communication skills:
- 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.

Learning ability:
- to know how to take notes in a synthetic and effective way, highlighting the crucial points of the themes examined during the lectures;
- to know how to critically integrate the study of different materials (notes, manuals, virtual texts, academic articles);
- to be able to independently study materials and topics, even those not covered during the lectures;
- to refine the ability to study materials in English.

A general knowledge of Japanese history and religions is advisable.

The course analyses the religious context in modern and contemporary Japan, showing the close interconnections with the social, political and economic spheres. Particular attention will be given to the religious responses to six moments of crisis/change: the Meiji Restoration, the post-war period, the crisis of the 1970s, the Tokyo subway sarin attack, the triple disaster of 3.11, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ambros Barbara, Smith Timothy, “Tenrikyō”, in Lukas Pokorny e Franz Winter (eds), Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements, Leiden, Brill, 2018, pp. 33-51.
Baffelli Erica, “Aum Shinrikyō”, in Lukas Pokorny e Franz Winter (eds), Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements, Leiden, Brill, 2018, pp. 193-210.
Baffelli Erica, Reader Ian, “Editors’ Introduction. Impact and Ramifications: The Aftermath of the Aum Affair in the Japanese Religious Context”, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 39 (1), 2012, pp. 1-28.
Cavaliere Paola, “Religious Institutions in Japan Responding to Covid-19-Induced Risk and Uncertainty. Some Preliminary Considerations”, Journal of Religion in Japan, 2020, pp. 1-33.
Dessì Ugo, The Global Repositioning of Japanese Religions: An Integrated Approach. London and New York: Routledge, 2016, pp. 67-97.
Fisker-Nielsen Anne Mette, “Sōka Gakkai”, in Lukas Pokorny e Franz Winter (eds), Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements, Leiden, Brill, 2018, pp. 109-127.
Horie Norichika, “Spirituality and the Spiritual in Japan: Translation and Transformation”, Journal of Alternative Spiritualities and New Age Studies, 5, 2009.
Inoue Nobutaka, “Media and New Religious Movements in Japan”, Journal of Religion in Japan, 1, 2012, pp. 121-141.
Inoue Nobutaka, “The Formation of Sect Shintō in Modernizing Japan”, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 29, 3-4, 2002, pp. 405-427.
Isomae Jun’ichi, “The Conceptual Formation of the Category ‘Religion’ in Modern Japan: Religion, State, Shintō”, Journal of Religion in Japan, 1, 2012, pp. 226-245.
McLaughlin Levi, “What Have Religious Groups Done After 3.11? Part 2: From Religious Mobilization to ‘Spiritual Care’”, Religion Compass, 7/8, 2013, pp. 309-325.
Mullins Mark, “Secularization, Deprivatization, and the Reappearance of ‘Public Religion’ in Japanese Society”, Journal of Religion in Japan, 1, 2012, pp. 61-82.
Prohl Inken, “The Spiritual World: Aspects of New Age in Japan”, in Daren Kemp and James R. Lewis (eds), Handbook of New Age, Leiden, Brill, 2007, pp. 359-374.
Reader Ian, “Secularisation, R.I.P.? Nonsense! The ‘Rush Hour Away from the Gods’ and the Decline of Religion in Contemporary Japan”, Journal of Religion in Japan, 1, 2012, pp. 7-36.
Rots Aike, Teeuwen Mark, “Introduction: Formations of the Secular in Japan”, Japan Forum, 30, 2017, pp. 3-20.
Stalker Nancy, “Ōmoto”, in Lukas Pokorny e Franz Winter (a cura di), Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements, Leiden, Brill, 2018, pp. 52-67.
Winter Franz, “Kōfuku no Kagaku”, in Lukas Pokorny e Franz Winter (a cura di), Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements, Leiden, Brill, 2018, pp. 211-228.
Zachmann “The Postwar Constitution and Religion”, in Lukas Pokorny e Franz Winter (a cura di), Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements, Leiden, Brill, 2018, pp. 215-240.

All the articles are available on Moodle.

The exam consists of 3 parts:
- participation in 5 online activities (30% of the final grade);
- individual essay (around 3000 words). The selected topic will be agreed upon with the lecturer. The essay (.doc) should be sent to the lecturer through Moodle at least two weeks before the day of the oral exam (60% of the final grade);
- oral presentation of the essay in 10 minutes (10% of the final grade).

Frontal lessons and online activities.
Bibliography and further readings are available on the Moodle platform.

Italian

The complete Syllabus will be available on Moodle.
This exam (with this syllabus) will be available only for the 4 "appelli" of the 2024-25 academic year. Starting from 2025-26, a new syllabus will be in use.

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