CJS Noon Lecture ~ "We Came to Deliver What You Have Forgotten: Studio Ghibli as Producer of Cultural Memory"
Thursday, October 13, 2011
4:00 AM
Room 1636, School of Social Work Building, 1080 South University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
For almost three decades, Studio Ghibli, best known for its directors Miyazaki Hayao and Takahata Isao, has produced high-quality anime which rank among the best selling products of Japanese popular culture. Today, Studio Ghibli has been accepted as a most successful national and global brand. Although their films vary considerably in topics and are aimed at different age groups, all of them invoke and represent cultural memories -- often not only in a nostalgic, but (at least mildly) critical fashion. Studio Ghibli may therefore be seen as both a pillar of modern Japanese contents business and a proponent of "Kulturkritik".
Reinhard Zoellner is professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Bonn, Germany. From 1999 to 2008, he taught East Asian history at the University of Erfurt. From 2003 to 2004, he served as Toyota Visiting Professor at the U-M Center for Japanese Studies. He holds a PhD in Asian History from the University of Kiel.
Reinhard Zoellner is professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Bonn, Germany. From 1999 to 2008, he taught East Asian history at the University of Erfurt. From 2003 to 2004, he served as Toyota Visiting Professor at the U-M Center for Japanese Studies. He holds a PhD in Asian History from the University of Kiel.
