- City: Tokyo
- Term: Winter course with field component during Spring
- Instruction in: English
- Taught by U-M faculty
- Majors/Minors this program benefits: Asian Studies, Asian Languages and Cultures, Art and Design, History of Art
Students earn a total of 6 credits on this 3-week experience in Tokyo and have the opportunity to examine examples of modern and contemporary popular visual culture in order to reveal fundamental themes common to many times and people throughout Japan.
On-Campus Component: Students must enroll in HistArt 392 (Winter 2023, 4 credits)
This course examines examples of modern and contemporary popular visual culture in order to reveal fundamental themes common to many times and people throughout Japan. A wide variety of films, photography, painting, sculpture, architecture, comics, advertisements, websites, and other media will serve as lenses through which students will focus their explorations of concepts of nature and place, personal and national identities, sex and gender, humanity and its borders, notions of beauty and ugliness, fantasy and virtual realities, violence and war, as well as cultures of consumption.
The course assumes no previous exposure to the cultures or languages of East Asia and all students are welcome to attend.
Off-Campus Component: GCC Japan — Anime to Zen (2 credits)
During this 3-week experience in Japan, students earn a total of two credits while travelling to Tokyo and other sites to explore various aspects of Japan’s modern and contemporary visual and material cultures. Students will explore shrines, temples, museums, festivals, galleries, commercial spaces, and street cultures across the city. Participants will expand the insights from the winter semester portion of the class to understand the complex interactions of cultures and perspectives in Tokyo and beyond. To cap off the on-site experience, each student will develop a project of their choosing that explores an aspect of Japanese visual culture through first-hand research in the city.
Instruction is in English. No Japanese language experience required.
