japan

JAPANESE VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Program

Courses

Faculty

Cost

Calendar

Housing

Eligibility

Application Deadline

PROGRAM

Japanese Visual Anthropology is a six-week program that focuses on the central theme of human visuality and, specifically, visual culture in modern Japan. Based at Temple University, Japan Campus, the program is designed for undergraduate and graduate students interested in Japan, Asian studies, visual anthropology, visual sociology, media studies or inter-cultural communication. Students enroll in two courses carrying three credits each for a total of six credits.

Throughout the program, students examine the breadth of public and vernacular visual culture as seen and practiced within the Japanese context. While such questions used to be relegated to the world of art history, now all visual forms — professional and non-professional, mass media and home media, public and private — are amenable to visual analysis. The topic is addressed through a framework of culture and visual communication, with primary attention given to sociological and anthropological perspectives. All lectures and production laboratories are offered in English, and there are no prerequisites, although some background in social science is beneficial.

Tokyo, one of the world’s most vibrant cities, provides students with an extraordinarily rich environment for the discovery and examination of visual culture in contexts of business enterprises, popular culture, architecture and art, as well as the presentation of everyday life. Field trips include several art museums in Tokyo (calligraphy, screens, prints, paintings, photography) and locations dedicated to popular culture—television and/or film production sites, mural art settings, Print Club Galleries, and graffiti sites, among others. In short, participants are exposed to “high, middle and low” visual culture.

Student participants will be encouraged to understand, participate in, and produce an ethnographic visual record in the form of either still photography or videography. Students are required to either bring with them one or more cameras, still and video, or to explore soon after arrival the vibrant world of inexpensive consumer imaging shops in Tokyo. More information about equipment requirements will be provided in the pre-departure materials made available to all accepted students.

COURSES

The six-week program consists of one core course and one production course. Both have been designed and coordinated to articulate with one another both theoretically and practically. All program participants enroll in both courses for a total of six credits.

Anthropology 2238/5458: Visual Anthropology of Modern Japan

(3 cr)
This course seeks to establish a sense of visual culture and proceeds to examine the visual dimensions of any culture, but with specific attention to Japan. How can we understand culture when we examine “that which has been made to be looked at?” Topics range from calligraphy, ukyio-e prints, tattooing, clothing styles, manga (comic books), TV ads, classic and contemporary Japanese cinema, and Print Club, among many others. Students are introduced to a broad range of subjects with the purpose of selecting topics for their projects in visual production. Films to be viewed include Reflections on a Japanese Garden, Tokyo Story and The Funeral, among others. Cross-listed with Asian Studies 2238.

Anthropology 4444/5444: Anthropological Problems in Visual Production

(3 cr)
In this course, students gain basic instruction in the image and sound dimensions of video production and practice in compact digital imaging. Emphasis is placed on strategies of ethnographic field recording and techniques of working in naturalistic settings. Students write proposals, treatments, production schedules, production logs and scripts. Most of the classes are held in the field. We work together in groups at various sites in the Tokyo area, including shrines, pop and high culture venues, and other public and private spaces. Critiques are offered on a regular basis. Students must bring with them or plan to purchase in Tokyo either a still or a video camera for participation in the course. Students are also introduced to anthropological Web page design and desktop publishing. Cross-listed with Asian Studies 3000.

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FACULTY

Lindsey Powell, Temple University anthropology instructor, conducted his PhD research on public protest spectacle in Japan, worked as a video producer at the leading English-language lifestyle magazine for foreigners in Japan, Metropolis, and its sister publication japantoday.com, and has taught at TUJ during many semesters.

Richard Chalfen, professor of anthropology, received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and has taught the anthropology of visual communication at Temple University since 1972. He has lived in Japan for four years, taught at TUJ for several semesters, and conducted research on Japanese home media and popular culture since 1993.

2009 COSTS

Notes:

All Non-Billable Item costs are estimates and should be used as a guideline only.

*The Program Fee includes orientation activities.

In addition to the items above, students should budget money for health insurance, local travel in and around Tokyo, any personal travel outside of Tokyo, and any additional personal expenses.

We recommend that students follow the exchange rate prior to and during their summer abroad, either through the newspaper or a currency exchange web site (such as www.oanda.com).

2009 CALENDAR (Summer I)

Dates are tentative and subject to change

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HOUSING

Students may choose to take advantage of housing arranged by Temple University or to make their own housing arrangements. More detailed housing information describing the housing facilities and amenities is provided to all accepted students in one of the pre-departure Web postings.

ELIGIBILITY & APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Please see General Summer Information for program eligibility and application requirements that apply to all programs.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 15

Announcement: For summer 2009 study, applications will be accepted through February 20.

For more information, please contact Lindsey Powell, Department of Anthropology, Temple University, 215-204-1424, lindsey.powell@temple.edu or Richard Chalfen, Department of Anthropology, Temple University, rchalfen@temple.edu.