ALC 397 / WGS 313
aalexy@umich.edu
Office hours: Mondays, 3-5pm. Please sign up for appointments.
Class meetings: Tuesday and Thursday, 4-6pm in East Quad B830
This mini-course runs for the second half of the semester, March 8 through April 19.
In some stereotypes, Japan represents old, rigid, or extreme gender norms. Japanese people, too, frequently comment on the ways gender and gendered expectations shape contemporary experiences of being Japanese. This mini-course identifies these stereotypes to ask what gender means and how it is being used in contemporary Japan and to talk about Japan in other contexts. Building from broad definitions of the sex / gender system and queer theory, we will investigate cultural constructions of gender in contemporary Japan through recent ethnographic works. We will be exploring how gender matters in contemporary Japan, and how Japanese experiences might or might not be culturally specific. Our course materials primarily consist of ethnographic representations but also include documentary and fictional films. The course is open to all students and does not require previous knowledge about gender or Japan.
The image at the top of this page comes from the 2019 Tokyo Rainbow Pride march. In the middle foreground, you see activist Sugiyama Fumio.