Schedule
NOTE: Introductory material and film introductions may be used as preparation for instructor's lecture or may be read in class as part of the introduction to the students.
Class 1 ~Introduction~
- Introduce Japan
- Introduce the topic of “Japan and World War II”
- Introduce Dragon Head
- Homework
- View Dragon Head (2003)
Class 2: ~Community~
- Introduce the topic of “community”
- Discuss Dragon Head
- Discussion Questions
- Discussion Focal Points
- Homework / Evaluation
- Read “Images of Armageddon: Japan's 1980s Theatre Culture.” Uchino Tadashi. TDR (1988-) Vol. 44, No. 1 (Spring, 2000), pp. 85-96
- Quiz on reading selection / film
Class 3: ~"Victim's History"~
- Review the topic of “community”
- Introduce the topic of “victim’s history”
- Introduce Grave of the Fireflies
- Homework
- View Grave of the Fireflies {1988}
Class 4: ~Firebombing of Japan~
- Review the topic of “Japan and World War II” (Firebombing)
- Discuss Grave of the Fireflies
- Discussion Questions
- Discussion Focal Points
- Homework / Evaluation
- Read “Transcending the Victim’s History: Takahata Isao’s Grave of the Fireflies.” Wendy Goldberg. Mechademia, Volume 4, 2009, pp. 39-52.
- Quiz on reading selection / film
Class 5: ~Atomic Bombing of Japan~
- Introduce the A-Bomb and Hiroshima City
- Introduce Barefoot Gen
- Homework
- View Barefoot Gen {1983}
Class 6: ~Atomic Bombing of Japan, cont'd.~
- Review the topic of “Japan and World War II” (Atomic Bombing)
- Discuss Barefoot Gen
- Discussion Questions
- Discussion Focal Points
- Introduce Godzilla
- Homework / Evaluation
- Read “No More Words – Barefoot Gen, Grave of the Fireflies and ‘Victim’s History’.” Susan J. Napier. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke. New York: Palgrave, 2001, pp. 161-174.
- Quiz on reading selection / film
- View Godzilla (1954)
Class 7: ~Godzilla~
- Discuss Godzilla
- Discussion Questions
- Discussion Focal Points
- Homework
- Read “Godzilla and the Japanese Nightmare: When "Them!" Is U.S.” Chon Noriega. Cinema Journal, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Autumn, 1987), pp. 63-77.
- Quiz on the reading selections / films
Class 8: ~Godzilla, cont'd.~
- Review concept of “victim’s history”
- Introduce Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack!
- Homework
- View Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack! (2001)
Class 9: ~Godzilla, cont'd.~
- Discuss Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack!
- Discussion Questions
- Discussion Focal Points
- Introduce Godzilla Resurgence
- Homework
- Read “Panic Sites: The Japanese Imagination of Disaster from Godzilla to Akira.” Susan J. Napier. Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Summer, 1993), pp. 327-35.
- Quiz on the reading selection / film
- View Godzilla Resurgence (2016)
Class 10: ~Conclusion~
- Discuss Godzilla Resurgence
- Discussion Questions
- Discussion Focal Points
- Homework / Evaluation
- Essay on Community and “Victim’s History”
- Prompt
- Conclude the module
- Wrap Up Points
