Course Schedule

Course Term
Course Attributes
Spring 2025
JPN

JPN 447 – Incorporeal and Ambiguous Bodies: Monstrous and Ghostly Tales in Premodern Japanese Literature

This discussion-centered, research seminar examines strange and ambiguous bodies prominently featured in premodern Japanese literature. Reading literary works in translation from the 8th to the 19th century, we will engage with a variety of rich depictions of ambiguous and mysterious bodies, including mythical creatures, vengeful spirits, shape-shifting foxes, strange apparitions, and incorporeal or invisible figures. Our topics of investigation include how ambiguous bodies challenge and reinforce social boundaries; the significance of gender dynamics in premodern sexuality; how the trauma of war is inscribed onto bodies; political authority over corporeal and incorporeal bodies; and the transformation of sacred spirits into the everyday grotesque. We will read a wide range of primary materials in translation, including mythologies, official historical records, literary tales, Buddhist didactic stories, women's diaries, and war-tales. We will also engage with scholarship on the cultural history of the body, religious beliefs, and theories of the monstrous, in addition to various theoretical frameworks related to post-colonial thought and gender studies.

Section
001
Days
Tu
Time
03:30 PM - 06:00 PM
Date
Jan 15 - May 7
Instructor
Status
Closed
Enrollment
15 / 15
  • Days: Tu
  • Time: 03:30 PM - 06:00 PM
  • Dates: Jan 15 - May 7
  • Status: Closed
  • Enrollment: 15 / 15