COMP 266(S) Confession and Deception in Japanese Literature (Same as Japanese 256)

JAPN 256(S) Confession and Deception in Japanese Literature (Same as Comparative Literature 266)
Situated at the origins of Japanese literature are the beautiful and revealing diaries of ladies in waiting of the tenth-century imperial court. Since that time, Japanese literary tradition has placed great value on confessional writing of many kinds, from Sei Shônagon's classical Pillow Book and the haiku master Bashô's eighteenth-century travel diaries to postwar autobiographical fiction by writers like Mishima and Tanizaki. The source of interest in many of these texts lies in their combination of self-revelation and concealment or deception. This course asks what it meant for these authors to write from their own experience, and also what new things we can reveal in their work by writing about it ourselves. The class and the readings are in English; no familiarity with Japanese language or culture is required.
Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: in-class exam, ungraded creative project, and a few short response assignments, plus two 5- to 7-page papers emphasizing original, creative readings of the literary texts.
No prerequisites. No enrollment limit (expected: 15).
Hour: C. BOLTON