Current course offerings

Please Note: Course profiles marked as not available may still be in development.

Course description

This course engages students with key topics that shape contemporary Japanese society and culture. The focus will be on post WW2 with particular attention to the last thirty years as Japan has emerged from a period of being a major leader in Asia and globally to entering a period of stagnation and decline. Each week will debate the effects of this transition on change in Japanese society. We will explore the impact of economic decline and societal disruption; the changing Japanese family and social structures; the impact of climate change; decline in birth rates and increases in numbers of aged; urban and rural differences; minority communities and multiculturalism; disaster and recovery and how these factors affect Japanese national identity, and contemporary Japanese society and culture.

Archived offerings