Japanese Ghost Stories
Oct. 14th, 2021 02:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingThe good news is that my annual contract with my university has been renewed for the next academic year, with a small increase in salary. The bad news is that Fall 2022 course offerings are due... tomorrow, apparently?
One of the nice things about being affiliated with a private university is that, instead of a course description having to go through seven layers of bureaucracy culminating with the office of the state governor, I can just sort of make shit up and run with it.
This morning I got the email asking for the courses I'm going to teach next fall. I panicked a little, had a cup of tea, and then thought, Fuck it. I teach what I want. I've therefore decided to offer a new course called "Japanese Ghost Stories." This is the course description that I may or may not have written in the spare fifteen minutes before I had to leave for work:
This course offers a survey of the numinous and supernatural through Japanese fiction, films, drama, comics, and video games from ancient times to the present day. Students will assemble a foundational knowledge of Japanese mythology and folk religion while studying popular narrative traditions representative of their historical eras. By peering into the liminal spaces connecting the living with the dead, students will also develop critical thinking and media literacy through careful investigation into the matters that people of different times and places have perceived as monstrous, alien, and unspeakable. Issues of gender, sexuality, and ethnic minority status will receive special attention as we navigate theories relating to the cultural role and relevance of ghosts. Strong writing skills are recommended, but no prior knowledge of Japan or Japanese language is required.
I'm hoping that the words "numinous" and "liminal," as well as the expression "strong writing skills recommended," will frighten away the weak. It's nice not to have to worry about enrollments, and I'm tired of teaching large and popular classes. I have had enough of accessibility. I think it's time to be difficult on purpose.
One of the nice things about being affiliated with a private university is that, instead of a course description having to go through seven layers of bureaucracy culminating with the office of the state governor, I can just sort of make shit up and run with it.
This morning I got the email asking for the courses I'm going to teach next fall. I panicked a little, had a cup of tea, and then thought, Fuck it. I teach what I want. I've therefore decided to offer a new course called "Japanese Ghost Stories." This is the course description that I may or may not have written in the spare fifteen minutes before I had to leave for work:
This course offers a survey of the numinous and supernatural through Japanese fiction, films, drama, comics, and video games from ancient times to the present day. Students will assemble a foundational knowledge of Japanese mythology and folk religion while studying popular narrative traditions representative of their historical eras. By peering into the liminal spaces connecting the living with the dead, students will also develop critical thinking and media literacy through careful investigation into the matters that people of different times and places have perceived as monstrous, alien, and unspeakable. Issues of gender, sexuality, and ethnic minority status will receive special attention as we navigate theories relating to the cultural role and relevance of ghosts. Strong writing skills are recommended, but no prior knowledge of Japan or Japanese language is required.
I'm hoping that the words "numinous" and "liminal," as well as the expression "strong writing skills recommended," will frighten away the weak. It's nice not to have to worry about enrollments, and I'm tired of teaching large and popular classes. I have had enough of accessibility. I think it's time to be difficult on purpose.
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Date: 2021-10-14 10:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-10-15 03:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-10-15 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-10-21 12:36 pm (UTC)Speaking of scaring off the weak, I've already gotten a few emails from Wharton students - in other words, business school students looking for an easy A from a culture class - about my spring classes. I have decided to delete all of these emails without responding. You can't block people in real life, but you don't have to give them your attention either. It's such a pleasure and a relief to have aged out of being "friendly."
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Date: 2021-10-25 11:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-10-20 04:32 pm (UTC)Yay for renewal! Boo for last minute "hey your stuff is due."
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Date: 2021-10-21 12:29 pm (UTC)One of the most intelligent things about this new system is that class meeting times are no longer staggered throughout the day. Now all classes on any given day start and stop at exactly the same time. What this means is that, when class is over, the urban campus is flooded with people in close proximity to one another. This is also really great for people with disabilities who need extra time to get from one class to the next.
Fun times all around! It's good to know that the university administrators are worth the half a million dollars they earn as a salary every year. *takes a drink*
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Date: 2021-11-02 11:10 pm (UTC)