EAS 333 - Spring 2015Traditional
|
||
|
Jeremy Robinson |
robinjer@gvsu.edu |
This class will explore the full range of traditional Japanese performing arts, especially the four main traditional genres of nô, kyôgen, kabuki, and bunraku but also arts such as gagaku, bugaku, biwa, kyôgen, and rakugo; as well as exploration of the role of performance in religious ceremonies, festivals, sporting events, and everyday life. There will be a strong emphasis on the way aspects of traditional performance are both preserved and adapted, manifesting in various ways in both modern performance and modern life. The course will take full advantage of its setting to explore first the tradition of live performance in Tokyo and then that of Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara. There will be at least six required field trips to view live performance as well as several optional supplemental field trips. The general content of the course remains consistent from year to year, but the specific details are always tailored to the performances that are available each season, and specific readings will target those plays which we will be seeing in performance. All readings will be in English translation, and no previous exposure to Japanese language or culture is required, but we will frequently make use of close reading to delve into the way the language itself plays a part in defining the performance.
The class is taught in conjuction with JPN 280 - Japanese Language and Food Culture, with classes divided per the schedule below. In general, classes are held from 9am to noon on weekdays with additional field trips during some mornings, afternoons, and weekends. Attendance and participation accounts for 30% of the final grade, and missing even a single class will impact that grade substantially. Attendance means more than simply coming to class, and it is expected that you will have read the necessary assignments and viewed any videos listed on the daily schedule, and come to class ready to share your views on them with your fellow students. The class is so small that active engagement by all students is necessary. Another 30% of your grade will come in the form of six reaction papers. These are intended to give your reaction to the performances we will be attending and, while they do not need to be as formal as a research paper, they should go beyond simply stating your opinion and show that you have reflected on the perfomance in light of what we have studied in this class. You will submit these on the Blackboard discussion board by midnight the day folllowing each event, and other students' reaction papers will also be available for you to read. Five of these reaction papers are marked on the schedule below and for the sixth you will need to choose one of three optional performances, for which you also have to do additional preparatory readings. If you wish, you may choose to attend more than one of these performances and write one additional reaction paper for extra credit, but you will be required to cover the cost of the performance yourself. These three optional performances are:
The remainder of the grade consists of five quizzes during class, a final project due by June 15th, and a presentation on that final project in class on that day. The content and format of all these assignments will be discussed in class. There will be two required texts for this course. The first is available in the bookstore, and the link below is to Amazon if you wish to order it online. It is widely available both new and used. The second one, howerver, is out of print so you will probably be unable to find it new or used online. If you can't, I will provide pdfs of the entire work via Blackboard.
Additional readings will also be made available in pdf format on Blackboard, and marked (BB) on the schedule below. In addition to these readings, there will be many required viewings of video materials. These will either be screened as a group or made available for individual viewing, either on the Language Resource Center's eVideon video server (links on Blackboard) or through transfer of video files to individual students' computers. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Itinerary / Course Schedule
Week Zero - Arrival |
||
Fri, 5/8 |
|
Arrive in Tokyo
|
Sat 5/9 |
Morning Afternoon |
Language Practicum 1 - Japanese addresses and our neighborhood Language Practicum 2 - Trains and navigating Tokyo |
Week One |
||
Mon, 5/11 |
4:30am 9am - noon
Read: |
Trip to Tsukiji fish market - meet in Hotel Juyoh lobby Introduction to the Course Robinson/Herlands “Japanese Theater: A Living Tradition,” Brazell pp. 3-43
|
Tue, 5/12 |
9am - noon
|
JPN 280
|
Wed, 5/13 |
9am - noon Field trip: |
JPN 280 Trip to Ghibli museum (optional - student only)
|
Thu, 5/14 |
9am - noon Read:
|
The Four Primary Genres “Kamo,” Brazell pp. 44-60 The Tradition of Performing Arts in Japan
|
Fri, 5/15 |
9am - noon Quiz: Read: View: Afternoon: |
Theater's origins in ritual Quiz #1 in class Raz, “The Audience is Formed,” pp. 5-41
8 Million Gods You may want to wander around the various neighborhoods between our hotel and the Sensôji complex in the afternoon today. There will be preparations by various neighborhood groups getting their portable shrines (omikoshi) ready to be carried through the streets
|
Sat, 5/16 |
Field Trip:
|
Sanja Matsuri @ Sensôji Temple complex -- Meet in Hotel Juyoh lobby at noon
|
Week Two |
||
Mon, 5/18 |
Field Trip: 9am - noon Field Trip:
|
Early morning trip to Yodobashi market JPN 280 Afternoon visit to ramen museum - Yokohama |
Tue, 5/19 |
Field Trip: 9am - noon |
Early morning trip to Toshima market JPN 280
|
Wed, 5/20 |
9am - noon Field Trip: |
JPN 280 Afternoon visit to soy sauce factory in Noda
|
Thu, 5/21 |
9am - noon Read: Field Trip:
|
Origins of Edo Theatre / Sumo “Performing Arts of Sixteenth-Century Japan,” Tsubaki pp. 3-14 (BB) May Grand Sumo @ Ryôgoku Kokugikan - Depart immediately after class
|
Fri, 5/22 |
9am - noon Read:
|
Kabuki “Kabuki” in Cavaye, pp. 49-55, 59-64, 69-85, 95-98 |
Sat, 5/23 |
Field Trip:
|
Blue Moon Over Memphis - English language noh play
|
Week Three |
||
Mon, 5/25 |
9am - noon Read: Field Trip:
|
Kabuki Origins of kabuki acting,” Kominz pp. 16-30 (BB) Kabuki Performance at the Kabukiza - meet in hotel lobby at 2:30pm
|
Tue, 5/26 |
9am - noon Read: View:
|
Chikamatsu and Bunraku "Bunraku," Cavaye, pp. 100-120 Bunraku
|
Wed, 5/27 |
9am - 10:30am Quiz: Read: View: Field Trip:
|
Kabuki vs. Bunraku Quiz #2 in class “The Courier for Hell,” Keene, pp. 161-194 (BB) Lover’s Exile (Optional) Rakugo at Asakusa Engei Hall theater |
Mon, 5/28 |
9am - noon
|
JPN 280
|
Fri, 5/29 |
9am - noon
|
JPN 280
|
Sat, 5/30 |
|
Check out of Hotel Juyoh - travel to Osaka by Shinkansen
|
Week Four |
||
Mon, 6/1 |
9am - noon Read:
View: Quiz: Field trip: |
Nô "Elements of Performance," Brazell, pp. 115-125 Atsumori, Izutsu, Dojoji (in class) Quiz #3 - take home Nô workshop - Meet in Umeda Dormitory lobby at 3pm |
Tue, 6/2 |
9am - noon Read: View: After class: Field Trip:
|
Kyôgen "Kyôgen" in Cavaye, pp. 181-192 Busu (The delicious poison) Have read prior to afternoon performance: Depart for Kyoto directly after class |
Wed, 6/3 |
9am - noon Read: |
Cross Genre Adaptation: Atsumori |
Thu, 6/4 |
9am - noon Field Trip: |
JPN 280 Fukujuen tea grinding/tasting in Uji
|
Fri, 6/5 |
9am - noon Field Trip: |
JPN 280 Hanshin tigers baseball game @ Koshien stadium - meet in hotel lobby at 5 pm.
|
Week Five |
||
Mon, 6/8 |
9am - noon Read: View: Field Trip:
|
Bunraku "At the Farmhouse," Brazell pp. 376-392 Bunraku clips Bunraku at National Bunraku Theater in Nipponbashi - meet in hotel lobby at 5pm |
Tue, 6/9 |
9am - noon Quiz: Read:
|
Modern variations on traditional theater Quiz #4 (in class) No readings - handouts will be distributed in class |
Wed, 6/10 |
9am - noon Field Trip: |
JPN 280 Japanese sweets making course at Yoshihiro in Kyoto
|
Thu, 6/11 |
9am - noon Field Trip: |
JPN 280 (Optional) Takarazuka at the Takarazuka Grand Theater
|
Fri, 6/12 |
9am - noon |
JPN 280
|
Week Six |
||
Mon, 6/15 |
9am - noon |
Final Project Presentations
|
Wed, 6/17 |
|
Check out of Umeda Dormitory |