EAJ / HIS / WSS 486 A History of Women in Modern Japan Spring 2013 Course # 9950 / 10284 / 9979 Instructor: Dr. David Eason Class Meetings: MW 2:45-4:05pm, Education Room #120 Office Hours: MW 12:00-1:00pm, and by appointment Office: Humanities 242 Phone: (518) 442-4579 Email: deason@albany.edu Overview This course traces the complex history of women s actions and experiences in the context of the history of modern Japan. In this class we will examine the lives of an economic, politically, and socially diverse group of women including housewives, factory workers, and prostitutes, and ranging from self-proclaimed revolutionaries to democratically elected political leaders. In short, this class aims to highlight the variety of women s experiences through a close look at some of the many texts and images both produced and consumed by women in modern Japan. Furthermore, in order to gain a better grasp of the opportunities and challenges faced by women in Japan at the start of the modern period, we will also briefly examine some of the roles of women in Japanese society prior to the 1860s as well. Thereafter we will proceed within a generally chronological framework to closely explore a number of major, reoccurring themes that include gender roles and expectations, production and domesticity, political participation, and debates over sexuality and reproduction. In order to explore these topics to the fullest extent possible, our class meetings will be devoted to highly focused group activities and discussions, with only occasional, brief lectures to clarify or elaborate upon points not adequately addressed in our assigned
readings. For this reason it is essential that you come into each and every day of class prepared, having completed and thought carefully about the contents of the assigned readings well in advance. In addition, there will be many weeks in which reading responses will be due. For this reason consistent, careful attention to the assigned readings is required in order to help foster engaged, active participation in the discussions held during our twice-weekly meetings, and will make for a more lively, educational, and enjoyable class for all involved. Required Texts (Available for Purchase) Bernstein, Gail Lee, ed. Recreating Japanese Women, 1600-1945. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991. Mackie, Vera. Feminism in Modern Japan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2003. Miller, Laura and Jan Bardsley, ed. Bad Girls of Japan. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Course Requirements Class Participation 20% Final Discussion Meeting 5% 5/16 Reading Responses (10 responses total) 25% Due 1/30, 2/6, 2/18, 2/27, 3/11 3/27, 4/3 4/10, 4/17, 4/29 Take-Home Midterm (Essay, approximately 4-6 pages) 15% Due 3/6 Research Paper - Annotated Bibliography 5% Due 4/1 Research Paper Thesis and Outline 5% Due 4/15 Final Draft of Research Paper (approximately 10-12 pages) 25% Due 5/6
Grading Policies and Guidelines 1) Letter grades are assigned in accordance with the following scale: 93-100=A; 92-90=A-; 87-89=B+; 83-86=B; 80-82=B-; 77-79=C+; 73-76=C; 70-72=C-; 67-69=D+; 63-66=D; 60-62=D-; 0-59=E. 2) Late assignments will be marked down in 5% increments for each day late (ie. a paper initially worth 100 points, turned in two days late, will earn a score of 90). Work not turned in will be counted as a zero (0). 3) There is no extra credit offered for this course. Do not ask for any. 4) Incompletes will only be given in the case of an emergency (sudden death in the family, serious illness) and require thorough written documentation. 5) Class participation is a vital component of this course. Students are expected to attend every class meeting, to arrive on time, to come prepared having completed assigned readings, to remain attentive, to refrain from pursuing behavior that might cause inappropriate disruptions, and to engage fully in class discussions when appropriate. Following from these points, each student s overall participation score will be assessed as follows Category #1 Category #2 Category #3 5 of 15 - Attendance 5 of 15 - Behavior 5 of 15 - Engagement This score is based upon attendance. Students who actively attend 100% of all class meetings, arriving and leaving on time, will earn the full 5 points, students who attend 90% of classes 4.5, those who are present only half the time only half of the possible total, or 2.5 points, and so forth. This score assumes, once again, that one is not only present, but also not tardy, does not leave early, is not asleep at his or her desk, etc. This score reflects attentive, non-disruptive participation in proportion to attendance. Thus, a student who is in class 100% of the time can earn full credit while one who is present 80% of the time can earn no more than 80% of this score (i.e. 4 points). Moreover, those students who are texting on cell phones, surfing the internet, passing notes to friends, etc. will earn substantially lower scores still. This score is calculated to measure one s degree of preparedness and overall level of participation in class. Asking questions, making comments and/or demonstrating familiarity with the readings through informed remarks made in occasional short writing exercises are all ways to ensure a high score. As with behavior, the possible points earned here are prefaced on attendance, and thus the same limits apply.
6) This class adheres to a policy that, to paraphrase the words of the Disability Resource Center, aims to provide reasonable accommodations for students with documented physical, sensory, systemic, cognitive, learning and psychiatric disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring accommodation in this class, please notify the Director of the Disability Resource Center (Campus Center 137, 442-5490). Additional information for the Disability Resource Center is available online at http://www.albany.edu/disability/index.shtml 7) Plagiarism is a serious offense. Students who use the words and ideas of others in their written work without providing proper citations to the original source(s) will be subject to disciplinary action and receive an official Violation of Academic Integrity Report that will also be sent to the Chair of the Department of East Asian Studies, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. In addition, students caught plagiarizing will fail the class, meaning that they will be expelled from the course and earn an E as their final, overall course grade regardless of their scores on other assignments. If you have any doubts as to what constitutes plagiarism you are to consult with me BEFORE submitting an assignment. For more information concerning the University s policies in regards to plagiarism and academic dishonesty in general, see the University at Albany Undergraduate Academic Regulations located on the web at http://www.albany.edu/undergraduate_bulletin/regulations.html Weekly Readings and Reading Response Assignments Reading responses are due during ten of the fifteen weeks of the semester. These responses, which are to be submitted to me via email no later than 8am on the day of class, are to consist of the following: Two paragraphs, the first of which provides an overview of the main argument(s) made in the reading under consideration, together with a discussion of some of the evidence used by the author to support his or her conclusions.
The second paragraph should be devoted to a detailed analysis of the reading. Here you should explain whether you found the author effective in stating and proving his or her case based upon the kinds of evidence provided, comment upon the style and clarity of the writing, and evaluate the plausibility of his or her larger argument, etc. You might also include within this paragraph any questions, doubts, or problems you encountered during the reading. Finally, you should devote a few sentences to noting how the present reading relates to some of the larger themes covered in class or already touched upon in previously assigned articles. Class Schedule All assigned readings are listed under Readings on the right-hand side of the schedule below. - ER indicates material available through the library s Electronic Reserve - Assigned readings that are bookended by asterisks (*) indicate that a reading response is due in my email inbox no later than noon on that day of class. Week #1 Discussion Topics Assigned Readings for Class 1/23 Wed. Introductions Week #2 1/28 Mon. Sex, Gender, and Agency Bad Girls of Japan, pp. 1-13; Feminism in Modern Japan, pp. 1-14 1/30 Wed. Early Modern Work * Recreating Japanese Women, 1600-1945, pp. 17-41 * Week #3 2/4 Mon. Prostitution and Patriarchy Bad Girls of Japan, pp. 33-47; ER Creating Prostitutes : Benevolence, Profit, and the Construction of a Gendered Order, pp. 45-71
2/6 Wed. Written Rules for Women * ER Women, Education, and Literacy, pp. 7-37 * Week #4 2/11 Mon. An Unlikely Revolution ER Dancing at the Rokumeikan, pp. 157-177; ER A Dinner Party is Not a Revolution: Space, Gender, and Hierarchy in Meiji Japan, pp. 95-113 2/13 Wed. Meiji Era Reformers Feminism in Modern Japan, pp. 15-44; ER Kishida Toshiko and the Career of a Public-Speaking Woman in Meiji Japan, pp. 171-189 Week #5 2/18 Mon. Imperial Subjects * ER Making Soldiers : The Imperial Army and the Japanese Man in Meiji Society and State, pp. 259-294 * 2/20 Wed. Home and Family ER At Home in the Meiji Period, pp. 191-207 Week #6 2/27 Mon. Female Factory Labor * ER Silk: Tightening the Screws, pp. 58-91 * 3/1 Wed. Meiji Schoolgirls ER Female Students and Teachers in Private and Public Schools, pp. 33-70;
Bad Girls of Japan, pp. 49-63 Week #7 3/4 Mon. The New Woman ER Ibsen s Nora: The New Woman Debate Begins, pp. 21-39 3/6 Wed. Bluestockings ER Discourse: I am New Woman, {Midterm Essay Due} pp. 79-99; Recreating Japanese Women, 1600-1945, pp. 175-198 Week #8 3/11 Mon. Images of the Modern Girl * Recreating Japanese Women, 1600-1945, pp. 239-266 * 3/13 Wed. Women as Consumers ER The Emergence of Agency: Women and Consumerism, pp. 13-44 3/18 Mon. No Class 3/20 Wed. No Class Week #9 3/25 Mon. Women in the Workforce Recreating Japanese Women, 1600-1945, pp. 191-216 3/27 Wed. Gendered Politics * ER Engendering Eugenics: Feminists and Marriage * Restriction Legislation in the 1920s, pp. 225-256 Week #10 4/1 Mon. Women and War, Pt. 1 Feminism in Modern Japan,
{Annotated Bibliography Due} pp. 45-72; ER The Wartime Period, pp. 157-178 4/3 Wed. Women and War, Pt. 2 * ER The Course and Conditions of the Establishment of the Military Comfort System, pp. 33-75; ER The Military Comfort Women Issue, pp. 69-94 * Week #11 4/8 Mon. Women at War s End Feminism in Modern Japan, pp. 120-143 4/10 Wed. The Occupation s Influences * ER Exporting Democracy? American Women, Feminist Reforms, and Politics of Imperialism in the U.S. Occupation of Japan, 1945-1952, pp. 23-45 ER Kissing is a Symbol of Democracy! Dating, Democracy, and Romance in Occupied Japan, pp. 508-535 * Week #12 4/15 Mon. The Postwar Family ER The Housewife, pp. 12-23; {Thesis and Outline Due} ER Producing Mothers, pp. 135-155 4/17 Wed. Female Politicians * Feminism in Modern Japan,
pp. 174-201; ER Profiles of Two Politicians, pp. 376-395 * Week #13 4/22 Mon. Corporate Japan ER Female Workers, 271-293; 4/24 Wed. The Ubiquitous OL ER The Japanese Labor Market and Office Ladies, pp. 17-43; ER Employment and Poverty, pp. 257-267 Week #14 4/29 Mon. Marriage and Divorce * ER Divorce, pp. 176-208; ER The Changing Patterns of Marriage and Motherhood, pp. 105-120 * 5/1 Wed. Contested Body Images ER The Well-Behaved Appetite, pp. 159-175 Week #15 5/6 Mon. Retail-level Resistance Bad Girls of Japan, pp. 111-125 {Research Paper Due} 5/8 Wed. Gender Roles Reconsidered ER Revolutionary Girls: From Oscar to Utena, pp. 151-171 ** We will hold a Final Discussion on Thursday, May 16 from 3:30 to 5:30pm. **