JPN215

From monster movies to abstract poetry, this course explores the diverse cultural currents running through Japan's era of high-speed growth during its dramatic economic recovery following the widespread destruction of World War II. Students examine some of the major literary, cinematic, and artistic movements of the period, their interrelationships, and their global reach and reception. Analysis of individual works considers broad thematic trends and choices made by postwar artists, including engagement with-or breaks from-the cultural and historical past; varying degrees of social engagement; and use of realism, experimentalism, or abstraction. Conducted in English.