Studies in Popular Japanese Media: Manga and Anime

  Japan

• Tokyo: 
Tokyo

Term: Summer 
Dates: May 16-July 4, 2008 (tentative)

Description: This is a six-week, six-credit program based at Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ). Designed for undergraduates, the program explores the rich and varied world of Japanese manga and anime, which represents some of the most important cultural products to appear in Japan in the post war period, and is an increasingly important part of global popular culture.

This workshop offers a thematic study of manga as Japanese pop cultural texts, adopting an interdisciplinary approach, drawing from the fields of history, art history, anthropology, sociology, literature, and film.

Each week a new issue from within the history of manga and anime is examined to give insight into key aspects of Japanese culture, including the transformation of gender roles in shojo manga, and powerful girl super hero anime such as Sailor Moon; the comics and rebellion of the 1960s, and the birth of the otaku subculture; apocalyptic visions of the future in science fiction manga and anime such as Akira, and Ghost in the Shell, which reveal the complexities of the post modern era.

Highlights: The program includes fieldtrips to art and anime exhibitions, and studios to see how anime and manga are made at their site of production.

Cost in US$: Approximately $4,100-$5,700

The Japan fee includes housing and orientation activities.

Please note that program costs are subject to change.

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to American, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi, South African and World Wide Participants.

Participants Travel to Japan Independently

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Transcript
• Written Application

Temple University's Mission Statement: The Temple University International Programs office is responsible for administering Temple-sponsored study abroad programs; advising Temple students on study abroad program and scholarship opportunities; serving as a liaison between the main campus and our campuses in Rome and Tokyo, acting as a resource for the Temple University community on matters concerning international education, and responding to increasing interest in international activities on the part of Temple students and faculty. We continue to develop and strengthen the international education programs that help Temple students attain a global perspective. We recognize that today, more than ever, the world demands that students understand other countries and how they are linked together. We are committed to the notion that through international education, Temple students enrich their general education, acquire knowledge and experience for their later professional success, and develop life skills needed to become competent and engaged global citizens.