Anthropology 276 - Japanimation and Culture in Postwar Japan

Institution:

Bard College

Subject:

Description:

Asian Studies, GIS, STS Japanese animation, also known as "Japanimation"or anime, is one of the most dynamic forms of cultural production in contemporary Japan. This course traces the history of anime and its relationships to the nation's social, political, and economic transformations over the past century. It explores the origins of Japanese animation, which emerged in the 1930s as a form of government propaganda to educate children about the imperialist project in Asia, and the animated films of the postwar decades, which depicted the national trauma of the atomic bombs while also offering a new, utopian vision of a modern Japan that centered around industry and technology. The different subgenres that began emerging in the 1960s (e.g., "Tokyo cyberpunk," "cute youngirl" anime) are also investigated. The final section of the course considers the globalization of the genre in recent decades, which has heightened the prestige and cachet of Japanese artistic production, even as the nation's political and economic influence wanes.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.bard.edu

Phone Number:

(845) 758-6822

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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