Analysis of contemporary Japanese society [ LASI2303 ]

iCampus

None

The course touches on the following themes:
1. Social class, identity and status (social class and the identity thus derived, stratification in function of sex and parental system; social and ethnic minorities and discrimination; the ageing population birth-rate and social welfare);
2. The social foundations ( religion and culture; education; work and its organisation; criminality and its repression);
3. Popular culture and amusements;
4. Politics (political parties; structures and political economics; principal foreign relations; regional diplomacy in Western Asia; emergence of an importance on a global scale).

An introduction to the principal aspects of contemporary Japanese society in the post-war period (cultural and social foundations, sociological characteristics and political institutions).
At the end of this course, the student will be able to explain the changes and continuities in the different domains of Japanese society. He will also be able to evaluate the impact of change on the cultural structures and the actual norms of the country. He will also be able to pinpoint the differences and the similitudes between the Japanese and Western cultures and societies, as well as between the Western and Asiatic models.

Continuous evaluation. The final marks will be based on :
' regular presence at the course;
' active participation in discussion in class ;
' oral presentation of group work.

Active learning : formal lectures, group discussions and presentations by the students of their works. Students will be obliged to read selected articles before lessons, with a view of talking about them in class.
Course material : selected reading matter to download from iCampus, power point presentations by the lecturer.

This course aims to describe and situate the Japanese contemporary society in a global context, in focusing on several important moments of the country that can be observed from different points of view. The course intends to consider not only the well known historical facts as capitulation, the speedy economic developing period after the WWII, but also the more recent facts that can be understood as universal facts. For instance, the economic bubble bursting in 1990s and its results (i.e., the terrorism in Tokyo subway by an sect « Aum » in 1995), the most recent economic
crisis in 2008, the absence of the people's confidence in today's politics, the problems of Nuclear energy and questioning on other potential energy sources, the lack of freedom of thought and communication (the 3 last topics are the consequences of the North-East Japan Earthquake in March 2011).
The course respects a priori a chronology of these actual facts. However, certain intemporary aspects of the Japanese culture, like Japanese people's behavioral tendencies, the notions of ambiguity, of generosity and of politeness, are constantly mentioned, since these cultural features are indispensable to understand the Japanese Society in general.

- Pierre Souyri (2010) Nouvelle histoire du Japon, éd. Perrin ;
- Joy Hendry (2003) Understanding Japanese Society, 3rd edition , Nissan Institute /Routledge Curzon Japanese Studies Series,
- Yoshio Sugimoto (2010) An Introduction to Japanese Society, 3rd edition ;
- Elena Janvier (2011) Au Japon, éd. Arléa.

The course will be given in English and in French.