Japanese at PSU

This four-week (ONLINE) course examines four masters of Japanese comic books (manga), including Tezuka Osamu (‘Astro Boy’, ‘Buddha’), Mizuki Shigeru (‘Kitaro’, ‘NonNonba’), Hagio Moto (‘Heart of Thomas’, ‘Drunken Dream’), and Higashimura Akiko (‘Blank Canvas’). What do manga stories written and drawn in the past 50 years tell us about what Japan was like in the 20th century and contemporary times? What do graphic novels tell us about the kind of people the Japanese wanted and want to be? Looking at early masters of manga adventure and boys’ stories like Tezuka and Mizuki as well as seminal women’s and girls’ comics geniuses like Hagio and Higashimura, we will survey a wide diversity of Japanese comic books and in the process consider issues of humanity, nationality, and gender through the lens of manga.

No Japanese language ability or background in Japanese culture is required. This course counts towards the Japanese major and minor, can be used to satisfy Junior cluster (U: Global Perspectives or Pop Culture) or Comics Studies requirements.

Contact [email protected] if interested or if you have questions!

Dr. Holt with Teppei Fukuda (M.A., Japanese 2020) published another translation of an essay by Fusanosuke Natsume. This time a deep and stimulating essay on Shugyo (Training -- Martial Arts and More) in Manga -- just published on THE COMICS JOURNAL website this morning.
https://www.tcj.com/the-tradition-of-training-images-in-manga/