Women Writers in Japanese Society

Spring 2007:  January 10 -  April 25
Class meets Wednesdays  6:00- 8:30pm
Location: Greenlaw 222
Course number: ASIA 384
Pre-2006 Curriculum:  A&S Aesthetic Perspective
2006 + Curriculum:  Connections: Beyond the North Atlantic; Approaches: Literary Arts.

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Professor Jan Bardsley
  Department of Asian Studies
305 New West
Office hours: W 1-3pm & by appt
Tel: 919-962-1534
Fax: 919-843-7817
bardsley@email.unc.edu

What is this course about?

Japanese women writers came into their own as professionals in the late 1800s, and participated in every major literary movement of twentieth century Japan. They wrote for all kinds of women's magazines and newspapers,  published novels, plays, essays, and poetry, supported war and anti-war movements, and fiercely debated gender equity, democracy and national identity. Many among them explored the transgressive, experimented with avant-garde abstraction, delved into pulp romance and mysteries, or earned fame as soap opera or comic book writers.   This course traces the history of modern Japanese women's writing, dramatizing its most significant, often controversial moments, and introducing students to the diversity of writers, readers and texts involved. The course also acquaints students with critical writing in English that opens new ways of thinking and talking about Japanese women's writing.

Who is the instructor?

Jan Bardsley teaches Japanese literature, women's studies and language classes in the Department of Asian Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill  A graduate of UC Davis and UCLA, I have lived and travelled in Japan, enjoy  translating and writing about Japanese women's writing and history, and have taught women's studies classes in Japan.  My current research explores the texts and events surrounding femininity in postwar Japan: royal weddings, beauty contests, etiquette manuals, and high fashion. I love watching Japanese TV soap operas. Most days you can find me in my office on the 3rd floor of New West (across from Memorial Hall). You are welcome to drop in anytime I am free though it is best to make an appointment for longer consultations.

What will I have learned by the end of this class?

  • Knowledge of the Issues:  By the end of this course, you will be able to discuss modern Japanese women's writing by referring to a range of genre and writers, historical events, and critical issues such as individual and national identity, gender and sexuality, and narrative strategy.
  • Critical Reading Skills:  You will have improved your ability to read works--both popular and academic--in the context of an investigation of one major topic, modern Japanese women's writing. You will also have learned strategies for approaching theoretical articles about women's writing.
  • Writing and Research Skills:  By writing short assignments and one research paper over the course of the semester, you will have enhanced your ability to develop and argue a position, and to design your own research plan in consultation with the instructor. 
  • Speaking Skills: Class discussions and a class presentation will launch your full and active participation in this course.  You will know most of the people in this class pretty well, and you will learn much from them.  You and your group will also teach the rest of us, helping us to better enjoy and interpret some texts in Japanese women's writing.
  • Artistic Ability:  You will read about artists, works by artists, and you will have a chance to think artistically in creating your group presentation--a presentation that is intended to surprise and delight the class, to make us think about an author or a text in an unusual way.

    • What books should I buy?

    All books, including many used, inexpensive copies, are available in the textbook section of the UNC bookstore under Asia 384.  You may also want to search for these books in the used-book stores on Franklin Street. You need to have your own copy of each of these books.

    All She Was Worth
    MIYABE Miyuki
     Mariner Books, 1999

    Bodies of Evidence: Women, Society, and Detective Fiction in 1990s Japan
    SEAMAN, Amanda
    University of Hawaii, 2004

    Grotesque
    KIRINO Natsuo
    Knopf,  2007

    The Doctor's Wife
    ARIYOSHI Sawako
    Oxford University Press, 2004 edition. (or used copies)

    Masks
    ENCHI Fumiko
    Vintage Press, 1983.

    The Modern Murasaki: Writing by Women of Meiji Japan
    Rebecca COPELAND (Editor), Melek ORTABASI (Editor)
    Columbia UP, 2006.

    Restless Wave: My Life in Two Worlds
    ISHIGAKI     Ayako
    Feminist Press, 2004.

    What else do I need to read?

    Short stories and critical articles posted on BB site; see the course schedule for titles and due dates

    How do I contribute to this class and how will I be graded?

    Participation
    5%
    • You have a vital role to play in determining the success of this course. Be prompt. Come prepared with day's assignment. Be ready to work. 
    • Everyone is allowed one absence.  This covers illness, family emergency, and any other event that might unexpectedly come up, and any other personal time you need to take.  Please notify the instructor by phone or email if you cannot attend class. Unless there is a medical emergency, three or more absences will count against your grade.
    • **To get attendance credit, you must be present during the entire class meeting.   You cannot take half credit for being at half the evening's class--it's all or nothing.
    • late paper policy: A paper will lose a 1/2 grade for ever day late.  For example, a "B+" paper originally due on a Wednesday and handed in late on Friday would earn a "B-."
    • Etiquette: shut off cell phones; no laptops open during class; leave classroom only during the breaks; make an effort to talk with and get to know your classmates. Be on time for class and stay the entire time. Make sure that you bring the day's readings to class as we will refer to passages in the text in our discussion.

    Essays
      30%
    • Three short essays of 1,000 words (roughly 5 pages):  10% each
    • Due January 31; February 14; April 4.
    Midterm
    Examination
    10%
    • Take-home essay, five-pages on the The Doctor's Wife.
    • Due in class on March 7th.  The topic will be assigned the week before.
    Research Paper
    30%
    • The research paper (ten pages plus notes and bibliography; graduate student papers should be 20 pages) provides you the opportunity to investigate one aspect of this course in more detail, and to design and execute your own research plan. 
    • Each paper focuses on a single author, summarizes critical writing about the author's work, gives biographical information on the writer (where possible), and, most importantly, engages at length with the ideas of one critical essay in interpreting one of the author's works. For critical writing, you  can also use essays in the text, Woman Critiqued.
    • You may choose to work on an author already on the course reading list as long as you can find more critical literature about her work or read other works that she has written. 
    • Use citations from the text to support your argument. 
    • The paper is graded on originality of the research design, thoroughness of the research, and clarity and style of the exposition.
    • For topics to consider, click here

    Final            
    Exam
    25%
    • Monday, April 30 6:00pm, meet in regular classroom
    • Exam will involve a take-home essay turned in at the time of the final as well as a short in-class  exam. You will receive the topic of the exam essay and a guide to what to study for the exam by April 23rd.

    It is understood that all members of this class pledge to uphold the honor code of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in all work completed for this course.