This course will use objects from art, industry, technology, and war to consider the richness of the Japanese past. From court ceremonies to samurai rituals on the battlefield, from daily gift exchanges to Buddhist mortuary markers, Japanese communities have expressed their dreams, fears, power, and imagination using material culture and rituals focusing on objects. Join us to explore Japan’s history through the study of things.
Overview:
The five-week (Feb. 20 - March 27) seminar includes:
- video presentations
- readings
- mandatory online forum participation
- weekly live online Zoom discussion with an instructor (Thursdays, 4-5 pm Pacific Time).
Instructor
Professor Morgan Pitelka teaches history and Asian studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is a specialist in the history of late medieval and early modern Japan, with a focus on the samurai, tea culture, ceramics, cities, and material culture.
Benefits
- 3 Continuing Education Units (processing fee applicable)
- Certificate of Completion
- Online resources and materials
Session | Date | Topic |
1 | Thurs 2/20 | Ritual and Material Culture in Prehistoric Japan |
2 | Thurs 2/27 | Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daily Life of the Imperial Court |
3 | Thurs 3/6 | Social and Cultural Rituals and the Maintenance of Warrior Society |
4 | Thurs 3/20 | The Performance of Power in Early Modern Japan |
5 | Thurs 3/27 | Ritual and Materiality in the Construction of Traditional Culture in Modern Japan |
Send your name and your school's name and location to us at asiak12@usc.edu or hsiac@usc.edu.
This seminar is possible because of a generous grant from the Freeman Foundation and is offered in conjunction with the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia.