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Readings, Discussion Topics, Assignments
Week One Thu (1/12) Discussion Topic: Introduction: Thinking About Work, Leisure & Identity Buy initial books for the course at the student store. Week Two Tues (1/17) Discussion Topic: Royal Work - Crown Princess Masako Readings: Amanda Seaman, "Modeling Masako: Commodities and the Construction of a Modern Princess;" Barbara Molony,"Why Should a Feminist Care about What Goes on Behind Japan's Chrysanthemum Curtain? The Imperial Succession Issue as a Metaphor for Women's Rights." Journal articles on course BlackBoard Site, see Seaman and for the Molony article, see Japanese Women: Lineage and Legacies. Discuss: What implications does Princess Masako's position have for Japanese society? Thurs (1/19) Discussion Topic: Powerful Women in Ancient Japanese Legend Readings: Laura Miller and Jan Bardsley, Introduction, and Rebecca Copeland, "Mythical Bad Girls: The Corpse, the Crone and the Snake," pps. 1-31 in Bad Girls of Japan. Also, read two short articles on BlackBoard: Hitomi Tonomura, "Royal Roles, Wider Changes: Understanding Japan's Gender Relations from a Historical Perspective;" Takashi Fujitani, "Imperial Succession Panic: The Politics of Gender, Blood and Race in Contemporary Japan," find both on BlackBoard in Japanese Women: Lineage and Legacies. Discuss: How do the anxieties about women's "essential nature" and the "female body" as described in Bad Girls of Japan resonate with fears over female imperial succession past and present? Week Three Tues (1/24) Discussion Topic: Work and Marriage as Self-Sacrifice Reading: Ariyoshi Sawako, The Doctor's Wife (novel). Detailed discussion questions Discuss: the relationship among the characters, the idealization of work, family, and scientic discovery, and the skeptical views of these ideals also voiced in the novel. How do notions of women's contributions to the family compare with expectations for Princess Masako's contributions to the family-state? Discuss representations of demonic, mythic females discussed last week in light of the idealized presentation of the character Kae in The Doctor's Wife. How do ideas of "good" and "bad" women influence constructions of women's work? Thurs (1/26) Discussion Topic: The Doctor's Wife Continue discussion of the Ariyoshi novel. Discuss: How do these articles describe "modern" women and motherhood in Japan? Do they have anything in common with values discussed in The Doctor's Wife? Hand in an annotation for Doctor's Wife today in class at 3:30pm. Assume that the annotation is for a bibliography titled, "Women and Work in Japan." This should be one long paragraph (200 words), typed. Examples of annotations: books on geisha and American beauty books. Week Four Tues (1/31) Discussion Topic: Life on the Margins 1930s-1950s Reading: Kelly Foreman, "Bad Girls Confined: Okuni, Geisha, and the Negotiation of Female Performance Space," pps. 33-48 in Bad Girls of Japan; Masuda Sayo, The Autobiography of a Geisha, (first half). Discussion questions for first half of The Autobiography of a Geisha. Discuss: How do portraits of a geisha's work life differ in these two accounts? What kinds of motivation for work are expressed in these accounts? How would you relate the working lives of geisha to ideals of women's work expressed and critiqued in The Doctor's Wife? Consult possible list of possible topics for your annotated bibliography Thurs (2/02) Discussion Topic: Life on the Margins 1930s-1950s Reading: Finish reading The Autobiography of a Geisha. Discuss ideas of geisha presented in class thus far and contrast them with images of the geisha popularized in films such as Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) and My Geisha (1962). Continue to compare the Foreman chapter, Masuda's book, and Drs. Wife. To find the word count, go to the "Tools" menu and scroll down to "word count." Week Five Tues (2/07) Discussion Topic: Bad Girls and Sexuality Reading: Several short, wicked chapters in Bad Girls of Japan: Melanie Czarnecki, "Bad Girls from Good Families;" Sarah Frederick, "Not That Innocent: Yoshiya Nobuko's Good Girls," Christine Marran, "So Bad She's Good:The Masochist's Heroine in Postwar Japan, Abe Sada," Gretchen Jones, "Bad Girls Like to Watch: Writing and Reading Ladies Comics," all in Bad Girls of Japan. Discuss: How is sexuality variously defined by these various images of the bad girl? How would you compare such ideas of sexuality to those connected with geisha fantasies? What are the implications of these notions of female sexuality to women's status in the workplace? Hand in short (250 word) annotation of The Autobiography of a Geisha Thurs (2/09) Special Presentation: Guest Speaker: NCSU Professor Eunja Lee Professor Lee will discuss her research on the politics surrounding the Japanese royal family Hand in brief, typed paragraph describing the topic of your annotated bibliography Week Six Tues (2/14) Discussion Topic: Women in Corporate Culture Reading: Chps. 1-3, Yuko Ogasawara, Office Ladies and Salaried Men Reading and discussion Questions Hand in an annotation for a book or journal article for your bibliography project. Wed (2/15) Attend special evening screening on campus of Mardi Gras: Made in China Documentary: Mardi Gras: Made in China
Wednesday, February 15 at 7 pm in Murphey room 116 (dir. David Redmon, 2005, 72 min.) This award-winning documentary takes an up-close look at globalization through the example of Mardi Gras beads, tracing these famous trinkets from the Chinese factories where they're made by teenage girls under sweatshop conditions, to the streets of New Orleans, where they're thrown from floats by the social elite into the eager hands of drunken, semi-naked revelers. This screening will be followed by a Q&A talk with the director. Thurs (2/16) Special Presentation: Guest Speaker: David Redmon, filmmaker Reading: David Redmon's website for his film Mardi Gras This documentary film, which connects women making Mardi Gras beads in China to "girls gone wild" at the New Orleans celebration, will make us think more about the connections we can make among the various groups of women working in Japan and between these women and the multitudes of women working across the globe. no reading or assignment due Week Seven Tues (2/21) Research workshop: Half the class goes to the library to do research on the annotated bibliography; the other half catches up on reading. MEET IN DAVIS LIBRARY ROOM 247--instructional lab-- if today is your day for the workshop Thurs (2/23) Research workshop: Same as Tuesday; reverse the activities of the two groups. The goal of our work this week is to make sure that everyone has a good idea of what an annotated bibliography is and has made a solid start in tracking down and reading materials. MEET IN DAVIS LIBRARY ROOM 247--instructional lab-- if you raised your hand to go on Thursday Week Eight Tues (2/28) Discussion Topic: Women in Corporate Culture Reading: Chps. 4 through Conclusion, Yuko Ogasawara, Office Ladies and Salaried Men Reading and discussion Questions Thurs (3/02) MIDTERM EXAMINATION: Part One: In-class exam will call for identifications, short answers and test your knowledge of the reading thus far. Part Two: Take-home part of the midterm will be a short essay (3-pages; 750-800 words, Give the word count of your paper at the very end.); topic announced in class on Thursday, 2/16; essay is due at the beginning of class on 3/02 Week Nine Tues (3/07) Discussion Topic: The Too-Good Wife Reading: Pps.1-144, Amy Borovoy, The Too-Good Wife: Alcohol, Codependency, and the Politics of Nuturance in Postwar Japan Thurs (3/09) Discussion Topic: The Too-Good Wife Reading: Finish reading Amy Borovoy, The Too-Good Wife First Campus Event Report Due Week Ten Spring Break (March 11-19, 2006) Week Eleven Tues (3/21) Discussion Topic: Portraits of Work in a Murder Mystery Reading: Kirino Natsu, Out, pps. 3-170. Discuss: What do we learn about the lives of the factory women in this mystery? What motivates their actions? What do these characters have in common with the "too-good wives" we studied last? Are these "bad girls" similar to what we have encountered in our book on the topic? Click her for excellent discussion questions already available online. Thurs (3/23) Discussion Topic: Portraits of Work in a Murder Mystery Reading: Finish reading Out. Discuss: How is women's work imagined in this thriller and how do these images compare with others discussed thus far in class? Is work the main problem these women face? Week Twelve Tues (3/28) Discussion Topic: Brands in Japan Reading: Jan Bardsley and Hiroko Hirakawa, "Branded: Bad Girls Go Shopping." As part of your homework, check out the websites for one of the elite European brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, or Hermes. How are the websites presenting the fashion and accessories, and what type of lifestyle do they evoke? How does the character of Nakamura Usagi compare to Jonouchi Kuniko in Out? Second Analytical Paper Due: This paper compares the worlds of the Too-Good Wife and the characters in Out. Define three issues on which to compare/contrast these books; use quotes from each to develop your issues. How do the issues you've selected support the overall argument you want to make about the connections between these two books? 800 word limit. PIZZA PARTY AND MOVIE, KAMIKAZE GIRLS: Tonight you're invited to an informal pizza party on campus and viewing of a short documentary on Japanese women. Jan Bardsley will bring pizza; bring your own drinks. Thurs (3/30) Discussion Topic: Bad Girls on Display Readings: "Bad Girl Photography;" Sharon Kinsella, "Black Faces, Witches, and Racism against Girls" in Bad Girls of Japan. How are young women using photography, make-up and tanning to style themselves and what has been some of the public reaction to their new styles? Week Thirteen Tues (4/04) Special Presentation: Guest Speaker: Susan Harbage Page, Photographer Professor Page, a professional photographer, will discuss her explorations of communities of women. She has lived and worked with textile workers in North Carolina and Augustinian Nuns in Italy, Maasai Women in East Africa and Bedouin Women in the Negev Desert. Her website is susanharbagepage.com. Thurs (4/06) Discussion: NO CLASS Use study time to complete your annotated bibliography. Make appts with Jan Bardsley for consultation next week if you'd like help with your bibliography. Week Fourteen Tues (4/11) Discussion Topic: Young Women Working in Japan Today Reading: Chikako Usui, "Japan's Frozen Future: Why Are women Withholding Investment in Work and Family;" Margarita Estevez-Abe, "Feminism as Industrial Policy in Japan;" and Merry White, "Baby Strike? Reflections on Ideology and Realities in Women's Lives." (Academic journal articles on course BlackBoard site; all in Japanese Women: Lineage and Legacies; our session topic today is the title of Part II of Japanese Women). Tues (4/13) Discussion Topic: Filipinas Working in Japan Reading: Nobue Suzuki, "Filipina Modern: 'Bad" Filipino Women in Japan," in Bad Girls of Japan. What are the expectations for Filipinas working in Japan? How do many Filipinas see their position in Japan? In the novel Out, we saw portraits of immigrants in Japan--Anna from Taiwan and Kazuo from Brazil. What differences/similarities exist between the way these characters are drawn and the way Filipinas are portrayed in Japan? Student Presentations Week Fifteen Tues (4/18) Student Presentations Liz Dabrowski, Lizzy Fitzgerald Thurs (4/20) Student Presentations Hana Crume, Scott Silvers, Laura Meredith, Hang Ngo, Elise Kuhlman Annotated Bibliography Due in class at 3:30pm. See syllabus for assignment instructions. Week Sixteen Monday evening special session (4/24) Alex Pham, Carla Woodard, Amanda Woodard, Natasha Richardson Meet in Room 307 Dey Hall, 5:00-6:30pm. Tues (4/25) Student Presentations Gregg Binder, Ben Taylor, Amit Bhagwandass, John Jackson, Ryan Bliton, Jessica Lambert Second Campus Event Report Due Thurs (4/27) Student Presentations: Meredith Sharp, Ann Grigsby, Ashley Rogers, Jake Hendley, Barbara Olivia Webb, Steven Pressley After 5pm presentations on (4/27) Danika Hoke, Sally Beth Moore, Daniel Topal, Carolina Harris, Charice Holt, Erica Almond, Michael Baker Stay in room 307 from 5-6:30pm for these presentations. Week Seventeen Final Comprehensive Written Examination: Tuesday, May 2, 2006, 4:00-6:00pm in our classroom Dey 307. "Final Study Guide and Take-Home Exam Assignment" were handed out in class on Tuesday, April 25, 2006, and are posted on the course blackboard site. |