Yonezuka Shinji (Professor)
It is important to have a core theme within yourself, and to update it through your daily experiences and conversations with other people.
American Literature and Culture, Literary Theory
Using novels published in the United States mainly from the late 20th century to the present, I have been exploring the power and effectiveness of the form of "fiction." My tentative answer to this question is "the ability to present the universal difficulties and challenges of the contemporary era as they are, without reducing them, and over a long span of time."
In my papers I deal with poetry, film, and cultural history in addition to novels. I also fully incorporate the results of research in academic fields adjacent to literature, such as history, sociology, and gender studies, and am always conscious of "research and education that can raise issues for people living in Japan today."
One of the characteristics of American culture is the low barrier between art and entertainment. Even if it deals with "hard to hear" themes such as serious social issues or criticism of the country, it can be entertaining and viable as a business. How has this characteristic worked to the advantage of American culture's global penetration? Also, what kind of ideas that have long been familiar to Americans lie at its roots? Socially conscious entertainment films and documentary films will be presented and discussed, and through this, students will also re-learn about the structure of Japanese society.
