JPNSE

This course is a survey of contemporary Japanese foodways that incorporates fieldwork as a main component of the learning experience.

These courses can be fulfilled through Pitt-Recognized or Exchanges. 

This course seeks to understand contemporary Japan through the lens of its environment. The syllabus brings broad political, social, and cultural questions to bear on selected aspects of Japan’s environment. Some of the issues discussed (e.g. Minamata) have been confronted and largely resolved while others (e.g. Fukushima) remain major challenges. The first half of the course focuses on the politics, socioeconomics, and culture that undergird the latest Japanese discourses and practices regarding “nature” in various manifestations. The second half of the course examines the history and current condition of the country’s industrial pollution as well as their amelioration. Overall, the course encourages students to critically reflect on the different ways Japanese society deals with the country’s alleged “natural beauty” and “inherent vulnerability.”