This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.

Japanese Popular Culture

Grafitti in kanji.

Grafitti in kanji, Sakuragi-cho, Yokohama, Japan, 2000. (Photo courtesy of Prof. Ian Condry.)

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

21G.039 / 21G.037

As Taught In

Spring 2003

Level

Undergraduate

Course Description

Course Features

Course Description

This course examines Japanese popular culture as a way of understanding the changing character of media, capitalism, fan communities and culture. Topics include manga (comic books), hip-hop and other popular music in Japan, anime (Japanese animated films) and feature films, sports (sumo, soccer, baseball), and online communication. Emphasis will be on contemporary popular culture and theories of gender, sexuality, race, and the workings of power in global culture industries.

Other Versions

Other OCW Versions

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Related Content

Ian Condry. 21G.039 Japanese Popular Culture. Spring 2003. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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