JAPA 340: Topics in Japanese Literature

JAPA 340-DL2: Contemporary Japanese Fiction
(Fall 2026)

Online

View the schedule of classes

Section Information for Fall 2026

This course examines the intersections of food, the body, and mortality in Japanese literature from the postwar period to the present. Through novels and short stories by award-winning authors including Yukio Mishima, Kenzaburō Ōe, Haruki Murakami, Mieko Kawakami, and Sayaka Murata, among others, whose work reflects the social and cultural realities of their time, students will explore how eating, hunger, and ritualized meals illuminate cultural, social, and psychological concerns.

The course situates literature within broader social and historical contexts—including postwar scarcity, urbanization, changing family and gender structures, and periods of economic boom and stagnation—encouraging students to consider how social conditions, literary form, bodily experience, and language intersect.

The course further integrates social theory and sociolinguistic approaches to deepen analysis, encouraging students to situate each work within a broader academic framework while examining how narrative and language reflect and shape cultural attitudes toward the body, care, and social hierarchy.

*This course is part of the Mason Core curriculum and fulfills requirements for Literature.

This is an online asynchronous section.

View 1 Other Section of this Course in this Semester »

Tags:

Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Study of selected topics in Japanese literature in English translation. Content varies. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. Offered by Modern & Classical Languages. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
Mason Core: Mason Core, Literature
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies, Non-Western Culture
Recommended Prerequisite: ENGH 101 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.