ART 271 - Japan and the (Inter)National Modern

This course introduces students to the art and visual culture of Japan from the late 19th century through the post-millennium. In this class, we will ask: What are the Japanese modern and postmodern? How might Japanese art, design, media and spaces be understood not only through the lens of Japanese history over the last 150 years but as part of transnational movements? To answer these questions, this course explores prewar and postwar trends in Japanese visual culture, including painting, prints, sculpture, architecture, fashion, anime (Japanese cartoons), film, photography, advertising design, sculpture, and manga (Japanese comics). Through these various artistic forms and media, we will explore themes such as trauma, nationalism, fascism, protest, hybridity, fantasy, embodiment, and performativity. Students will be asked to critically consider how these works operated as a part of international flows in art, design, and consumerism and contributed to the formation of new modern and postmodern subjects.
(4 Credits)