JPN 295-01 - Special Topic: Contemporary Japanese Fiction

4 credits (Spring)

Cross-listed as: GLS 295-01. In this course, we will read contemporary Japanese fiction (in English translation) from the 1990’s to the present with an emphasis on women and/or minority writers within Japan. We will consider how these texts grapple with a range of social issues, such as: the afterlives of the Japanese empire, gender and sexuality, post-90’s economic recession, a declining birth rate, as well as xenophobia and the rise of right-wing nationalism. We will also consider what it means to read these works in English translation, thinking critically about the ways that national identity is refracted through a global literary marketplace. Readings and discussions in English.

Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Hofmann-Kuroda

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