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Essay 2

Evaluating Approaches to Cultural Analysis

During this section of the class we are exploring and discussing different approaches to cultural analysis.

Please use Leila Philip's book, The Road Through Miyama, and consider the following questions:

  • How can we evaluate different methods for understanding Japanese culture?
  • What are the advantages and limitations of different approaches?
  • What aspects of Japan are accessible through what kinds of research

In particular, you might consider some of the different methods Philip uses to discuss her experience of living in Miyama.

For example, she relies on a variety of methods, including historical descriptions, her experiences as a practicing apprentice, her portraits of others, and her descriptions of activities outside the workshop (e.g., English conversation lessons, rice farming, etc.). What do we learn from these different methods? What do you think of the image she gives us of rural Japan?

For comparison, you can also consider the other materials we have encountered so far, including the Bumiller book, the J-Horror Performance, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the documentary films we have watched—Makiko's New World (based on a 1910 diary of a woman newly married to a Kyoto merchant) and Inside Japan, Inc. (which explored the postwar economic boom).

 

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