6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL
Undergraduate - Unit
Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.
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Unit guides
Prerequisites
Twelve credit points of second-year Arts units.
Notes
- This unit is an international study programinternational study program (http://future.arts.monash.edu/learning-abroad) that requires an application to be enrolled and may incur additional cost.
- The unit may be offered in non-standard teaching periodsnon-standard teaching periods (http://www.monash.edu/enrolments/dates/census).
Synopsis
This intensive study program enables students to recognise and assess the nature of consumption in Japan. Japan is famous internationally for its production of consumer goods. This unit addresses more specifically the diversity of scales of production, and examines the cultural discourses accompany and frame the marketing and consumption of consumer goods - both tangible as material objects and intangible as experiences, spaces or feelings. Students are encouraged to recognise and critically assess such discourses, and to use them to reflect on the diverse and multifaceted nature of contemporary Japanese society. With a starting point in Kyushu, the students spend a week with Kyushu University students developing individual research projects and taking level-appropriate language training. From there, groups travel via Hiroshima and small seaside communities to Osaka and Kyoto, experiencing these places as collections of contrasting neighbourhood and villages each with their own cultures of production and consumption. Students come out of their experience equipped with a more sophisticated understanding of Japanese society and culture, and the nature of production and consumption in a post-industrial, increasingly globalised world.
Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the unit, students should be able to:
- discuss cultures of consumption in Japan;
- critically examine the discursive frameworks around consumption;
- relate such discourses to broader global challenges;
- relate these challenges to their own field of interest or discipline;
- deploy theoretical tools to analyse relevant case studies on topics provided or chosen for assessment.
Assessment
Within semester assessment: 100%
Workload requirements
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
See also Unit timetable information