JK19001Research 1~3-Seminar (VMC)(Lecture)
| Numbering Code | G-LET36 6JK19 LE36 | Year/Term | 2022 ・ Second semester | |
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| Number of Credits | 2 | Course Type | special lecture | |
| Target Year | Target Student | |||
| Language | English | Day/Period | Wed.4・5 | |
| Instructor name | Ｍｉｔｓｕｙｏ Ｗａｄａ－Ｍａｒｃｉａｎｏ (Graduate School of Letters Professor) | |||
| Outline and Purpose of the Course |
The search for a sustainable life is a pressing issue in Japan, especially after the Fukushima disaster. However, those of us living in Japan are uncertain about where to start and how to proceed. This course will examine “ecocinema,” focusing specifically on films from the U.S., P.R.C. and Japan that tackle issues of nuclear power, agriculture, and sustainable life. By examining those issues in different regions, we will imagine how global sustainability might look and what roles our transcultural communities might play in the future. Study Focus: Visual, Media, and Material Culture. |
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| Course Goals |
First, students will learn about a wide range of issues in present global ecology and a variety of documentary films categorized as “ecocinema.” Second, students will learn how to analyze those films. They will study, step-by-step, how to approach and analyze the medium of film. Third, in developing and writing their final essays, students will hone their ability to produce a persuasive paper. During our final two to three weeks, all students will present their final essay topics to the class. |
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| Schedule and Contents |
Week 1-2: Introduction: What is Ecocinema? and Issues on Global Warming (Screening) An Inconvenient Truth (2006, dir. Davis Guggenheim, 1 h 36 min) (Reading Assignment) “What is Ecocinema? A Case Study Analysis with Jim Henson’s Labyrinth,” Toby Neilson. (Suggested Assignments) “More Truth, Even Less Convenient,” David Guggenheim. Tatiana Schlossberg, “How Much Do You Know About Solving Global Warming?” Week 3-4: Planet or Plastic? (Screening) Plastic China (2016, dir. Jiuliang Wang, 1 h 22 min) (Reading Assignments) Beattie G., Sale L., McGuire L., “An inconvenient truth? Can a film really affect psychological mood and our explicit attitudes toward climate change?” Semiotica, 187, 105-125 (2011). Laura Parker. “We Make It. We Depend on It. We’re Drowning in It.” National Geographic, June 2018: 40-91. “China Stops Recycling Our Shit.” (January 23, 2018). http://iquitplastics.com/blog/2018/1/23/china-bars-recycling-our-shit Week 5-6: Issues on Alternative Energy (Screening) Ashes to Honey (2010, dir. Hitomi Kamanaka, 2h 15 min) (Reading Assignments) Hideaki Fujiki, “Problematizing Life: Documentary Films on the 3.11 Nuclear Catastrophe,” in Fukushima and the Arts: Negotiating Nuclear Disaster, ed. Barbara Geilhorn and Kristina Iwata-Weickgenannt (London and New York: Routledge, 2017), 90-109. Joel Neville Anderson, “Cinema in Reconstruction: Japan’s Post 3.11 Documentary,” in Film on the Fault Line, ed. Alan Wright (Bristol, UK/Chicago, USA: Intellect; 2015), 215-231. Week 7-8: Issues on Fukushima (Screening) Nuclear Nation (2012, dir. Atsushi Funahashi, 1h 36 min) (Reading Assignments) Mick Broderick and Robert Jacobs, “Fukushima and the Shifting Conventions of Documentary: From Broadcast to Social Media Netizenship,” in Post-1990 Documentary: Reconfiguring Independence, ed. Camille Deprez and Judith Pernin (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015), Chapter 14. Brandon Harris, “After the Wave: Atsushi Funahashi on Nuclear Nation” in https://filmmakermagazine.com/82896-after-the-wave-atsushi-funahashi-on-nuclear-nation/#.XV9M1FBUuCQ (published on Dec. 17, 2013, and accessed on August 2019). Week 9-10: Food Ecology and Animal Rights (Screening) Food, inc. (2008, dir. Robert Kenner, 1h 34 min) A Story of a Butcher’s Shop (2013, dir. Aya Hanabusa, 1h 49 min) (Reading Assignments) Laura Lindenfeld, “Can Documentary Food Films Like Food Inc. Achieve their Premise?” Environmental Communication Vol. 4, No. 3 (September 2010), 378-386. Belinda Smaill, “New Food Documentary: Animas. Identification, and the Citizen Consumer,” Film Criticism Vol. 39, No. 2 (Winter 2014-15), 79-102. Week 11-12: Ecology and Art (Screening) Waste Land (2010, dir. Lucy Walker, 1h 39 min) (Reading Assignments) No reading assignments for this week. Instead, we’ll discuss on various possibilities for “ecocinema” in class. Week 13-14: Student Presentations on Final Essay Student Presentations on Final Essay *20 minutes maximum. *use power point. *if you are analyzing a film, which has not been screened in class, show some clips at least from the film during your presentation. *distribute your one-page outline with hard copies to all students. Week 15: Feedback |
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| Evaluation Methods and Policy | Active Participation + Attendance (20%), Leading Discussion on Reading Materials (10%), Short Reaction Paper (20%), Presentation (10%), Final Paper (40%). | |||
| Course Requirements | Number of participants not more than 7. | |||
| Study outside of Class (preparation and review) | The participants are expected to complete all reading materials before they come to our class. | |||
| Textbooks | Textbooks/References | Not used. Reading materials will be retrieved digitally from my file. | ||
| References, etc. | I'll introduce reading references in class. | |||
