Course Details

Country: Japan
Institution: Waseda University
Course Title: Modern Japanese Fiction in Translation
Course Number: LITJ361L
Course Description: In this class, we will read literary works of great Japanese authors of the early twentieth century with an emphasis on their perceptions of modernity. Thematically, this course is divided into two parts. In the first half, we read works that were written in Meiji period to see how they conceptualized “modernity,” “the West,” and themselves. The writers we discuss in this section will be : Higuchi Ichiyo, Natsume Soseki, Mori Ogai, and Nagai Kafu. The second half of the course deals with so called modernist and Marxist writers. We will explore how the concept of “modernity” and their relationship with “the West” changed as Japan expanded itself to Asia. We will analyze the literary representation of modernity in the works of Tanizaki Junichiro, Yokomitsu Riichi, Hayashi Fumiko, Kobayashi Takiji, Edogawa Rampo, and Kawabata Yasunari.
Language: English
Approved Equivalent: JAPA 340
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