LITR 035J. Narratives of Disaster and Rebuilding in Japan

(Cross-listed as JPNS 035)
This course will explore documentary and fictional representations of the modern Japanese landscape and cityscape in crisis, with special attention to the role of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster as a catalyst for change in contemporary Japan. Documentaries and fictionalizations of the 2011 “triple disaster” reignited debates over cultural trauma and the ethics of representing disaster. Through the study of literature, film, and critical discourse, we will examine the historical and cultural implications of such famous 20th-century disaster narratives as Godzilla and Japan Sinks, as well as the latest writing and films from Japan, in the context of public debates about safety, sustainability, and social change after the March 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster. Readings and discussion will be in English.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Literatures in Translation
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/modern-languages-literatures

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