HJAB0104EU JAP, Built Japan: Places, architecture, and heritage (E20)

Volume 2020/2021
Education

Curriculum for BA program in Japanese Studies, 2019

Curriculum for BA program in Asian Studies with specialisation in Indology, Japanese Studies, Chinese Studies, Korean Studies, South East Asian Studies and Tibetology, 2015

Curriculum for BA elective program in Japanese Studies, 2019

Curriculum for MA program in Japanese Studies, 2019

Curriculum for MA program in Asian Studies, 2008

Content

This course will approach modern and contemporary Japanese society and culture by analyzing select portions of the built environment in Japan. Through a close analytical focus on a handful of very famous sites – iconic buildings, neighborhoods, and local communities across Japan – we will disentangle layers of meaning and social practice, proceeding from the history of Japanese architecture and spatial organization to locally and spatially embedded forms of social life and meaning-making. Among the questions we will address are: what is the connection between authenticity and cultural heritage in Japan? How are legacies of colonialism, militarism, and postwar prosperity and pacifism materially manifested and traceable in buildings and monuments? How are contemporary art and architecture used to revitalize rural communities, and how do urban environments shape social interaction and subcultural formations in Japan’s megacities? The course will take us from industrial ruins to urban sprawl, from urban neighborhoods to sacred sites, and from historical monuments to art museums. Engaging with the historical and ethnographic literature, we will train our critical and analytical skills, develop systematic reading skills and train our ability to read “beyond the facts” to identify textual layers and critically reflect on research questions, methods, and arguments in the course readings. The course ends with an exam essay aiming to combine such skills and concerns with newly acquired topical knowledge.

For BA students, this course is integrated with two weekly lessons on methods in Asian studies.

Learning Outcome

BA 2019-studieordning:
Japansk realia 1 (aktivitetskode HJAB00941E)

BA 2015-studieordning:
Japanstudier realia 1 (aktivitetskode HJAB00831E)
Japanstudier realia 2 (aktivitetskode HJAB00871E)
Japanstudier realia 3 (aktivitetskode HJAB00891E)

BA-tilvalg 2019-studieordning:
Japansk Realia A (aktivitetskode HJAB10211E)
Japansk Realia B (aktivitetskode HJAB10221E)
Japansk Realia C (aktivitetskode HJAB10231E)

KA 2019-studieordning:
Tekstbaseret emne (aktivitetskode HJAK03341E)

KA 2008-studieordning:
Tekstbaseret Emne (aktivitetskode HJAK03042E)
Emnekursus A (aktivitetskode HJAK03051E)
Emnekursus B (aktivitetskode HJAK03101E)

To be announced.

For BA students, this course is integrated with two weekly lessons on methods in Asian studies.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 56
  • Preparation
  • 356,5
  • Total
  • 412,5
Oral
Individual
Collective
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Other
Criteria for exam assesment