Art majors, are you looking for an elective for the fall? Professor Steve Wills in the History department is offering a modern Japanese history seminar that you might find interesting. History 3840/4840: Meiji — The Making of Modern Japan (4-credits) T/Th, 12:10-1:50 *** You can choose to take the class at the 3000 or 4000 level, the main difference being that the 4000 level requires a research paper and the 3000 level does not. COURSE DESCRIPTION: During the Meiji period, a 40-year period lasting from 1868 to 1912, Japan underwent an unbelievable cultural transformation, transitioning from a feudal society governed by samurai warriors to a modern industrialized nation-state capable of giving the great Western powers a run for their money on the world stage. The Meiji period is also the time when Japan began expanding its empire in Asia, so understanding the Meiji legacy is the key to understanding conditions in East Asia today. If youre interested in contemporary Japanese artists like Murakami Takashi and Nara Yoshitomo or brilliant animators like Miyazaki Hayao, diving into the history of the Meiji period will give you new insights into their work. Learning to put the contemporary Japanese art scene in historical context is just one of the benefits youll gain from taking this class. The art and culture of the Meiji period is fascinating to explore in its own right. During those years, Japanese intellectuals, writers, and artists grappled with new ideas flooding in from Europe and the United States and experimented with new ways to express themselves. At the same time, exoticized images of Japanese/Oriental culture caught on in the West in the form of Japonisme, the sort of implicit or explicit Japanese influence seen in the work of artists like Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec. This is not an art history course per se, but youll have plenty of opportunities to explore a rich period in the development of modern Japanese culture. If this sounds like it might be interesting to you, the class still has plenty of space available. Feel free to contact Professor Wills (swills) directly if youd like to know more about the class.
Posted on: Tue, 20 May 2014 18:07:21 +0000
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