JPS3081

Critical issues in Japanese studies

Ross Mouer and Wendy Smith

4 points - 1.5 hours per week - First semester - Clayton - Prerequisite: Completion of JPS2110/JPS3110 or JPS2530/JPS3530 and one other 8-point Japanese studies subject.

Objectives Students should become aware of the salient features of Japanese studies as an organised endeavour. Students should gain insight into how the profession is organised and how it thinks about Japanese studies as a discipline, and an appreciation for the theoretical frameworks, the methodologies and the ideological biases which characterise Japanese studies at the turn of the century.

Synopsis The subject will be organised in a seminar fashion and will begin by introducing students to some of the parameters which define scholarship on Japan: the logic of theory, the forums of debate, and the policy-making framework. It will then introduce students to a series of debates on important phenomena which are affecting the directions in which Japan is headed at the end of the twentieth century.

Assessment Written (2000 words): 70% - Examination (1 hour): 30%

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