Aims

- To familiarise students with the trends in contemporary academic research on anime.
- To draw students’ attention to and deepen their understanding of the differences between academic approaches to anime in Japan and elsewhere (especially America) as well as the different ways scholars employ to reflect on Japanese culture and society in general.
- To raise students’ awareness of anime’s potential as a text that can inform a variety of disciplines.
- To develop students’ understanding of the history and the main genres of anime.
- To develop students’ understanding of the history of the exportation of anime and of its acceptance outside Japan.

Outline Of Syllabus

Anime is rapidly gaining popularity as a subject of academic research in a number of disciplines. Approaches to anime, however, vary, especially between works written in English and Japanese: different films and different topics are chosen and different methodologies are employed. The most significant point to consider is the different attitudes held by Japanese and non-Japanese scholars in their approach to Japanese society and culture. Those differences, in turn, relate to differences in the disciplines associated with research of anime and related media in Japan and elsewhere.

Anime and related media provide us with a vantage point on contemporary Japanese society and culture. However, when using anime as a source for research on Japanese society and culture, it is mandatory to overcome this split, and to do so, we need to approach anime from three viewpoints: the non-Japanese (especially American) view of anime that conceives it mainly as a film text; the Japanese view that analyses it as a representation of specific social situation and thought peculiar to contemporary Japan, and finally that of the enthusiast who focus on the technical details and the history of anime as an art form. This advanced survey course begins with an overview of the history of anime, and then explores the various ways in which anime has been treated in academic research, taking cues from critical writings. Finally, we shall reflect upon the Japanese and the American critical approach to anime in order to summarise the issues raised in the course.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The lectures will provide the students with knowledge and information necessary to engage with contemporary Japanese animation critically and academically.

In SGL (Structured non-synchronous discussion) the students will have opportunities to discuss questions on the texts (animation and reading) with the lecturer and the peers. This will enable the students to engage actively with reading and viewing materials as well as what they learn in the lecture, and develop their own idea, which should be eventually presented in the assessment.

While the module will introduce the students to areas for which only materials in Japanese are available, the key ideas and argument in these will be explained in English in the lectures.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The report will give students an opportunity to practice/refresh their skills in reading and commenting on existing academic research on anime, a skill essential for essay writing.

The students have to write an essay on one of the topics covered in the course (e.g. History of anime, gender, internationalisation of anime). The choice of specific agenda as well as methodology to be adopted is up to the students (The choice of agenda itself and how s/he discusses the issue of his/her choice will be also assessed).

The proposal will enable the student to reflect on possible topics, methodology, structure and other aspects of an academic paper on anime, and use any feedback for their essay.