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The Great Courses Plus

Understanding Japan: A Cultural History

via The Great Courses Plus

Overview

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Embark on an unforgettable tour of Japanese history and culture in this engrossing course made in partnership with the Smithsonian.

Syllabus

  • 01: Japan: A Globally Engaged Island Nation
  • 02: Understanding Japan through Ancient Myths
  • 03: The Emergence of the Ritsuryo State
  • 04: Aspects of the Japanese Language
  • 05: Early Japanese Buddhism
  • 06: Heian Court Culture
  • 07: The Rise of the Samurai
  • 08: Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism
  • 09: Samurai Culture in the Ashikaga Period
  • 10: Japan at Home and Abroad, 1300 - 1600
  • 11: Japan’s Isolation in the Tokugawa Period
  • 12: Japanese Theater: Noh and Kabuki
  • 13: The Importance of Japanese Gardens
  • 14: The Meaning of Bushido in a Time of Peace
  • 15: Japanese Poetry: The Road to Haiku
  • 16: Hokusai and the Art of Wood-Block Prints
  • 17: The Meiji Restoration
  • 18: Three Visions of Prewar Japan
  • 19: War without a Master Plan: Japan, 1931 - 1945
  • 20: Japanese Family Life
  • 21: Japanese Foodways
  • 22: Japan’s Economic Miracle
  • 23: Kurosawa and Ozu: Two Giants of Film
  • 24: The Making of Contemporary Japan
  • By This Professor

Taught by

Mark J. Ravina

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