In the 1960s, Japanese boys' and girls' magazines transformed from a monthly to a weekly format, and Japan began to move full-steam along the path to becoming a "Comics Superpower." As we read representative works from the 1970s through the 1990s, we will analyze the process of the growth of Japan's comics industry, and consider the place of comics in "Post Bubble-Economy" Japan. In particular, we will focus on such issues as the "business" and "art" aspects of Japanese comics as a mass medium.
In each class, students will divide into groups to discuss the comics assigned for homework. Then each group will summarize their discussion to the class as a whole. The professor's lecture will either follow the presentations or, more likely, will be scattered throughout the presentations, as students raise points the professor wants to expand on or emphasize. At the end of each class, students will be asked to write brief comments on that day's class and reading.
End of term exam (36%), attendance and contribution to discussion (40%), and three quizzes (24%).
The content of the course is fun and is presented in a fun way, but this is by no means a "light" course. I would like students to mercilessly dissect their own "commonsense" regarding comics. Most of all, I would encourage students to speak out in class and ask questions without hesitation.
| 1) Summary of Spring semester | 8) The 1980s, Part III |
| 2) The 1970s, Part I | 9) The 1990s, Part I |
| 3) The 1970s, Part II | 10) The 1990s, Part II (QUIZ) |
| 4) The 1970s, Part III (QUIZ) | 11) The 1990s, Part II I |
| 5) The 1970s, Part IV | 12) to be determined |
| 6) The 1980s, Part I | 13) Conclusion |
| 7) The 1980s, Part II (QUIZ) |