The Power of Words
This course examines how words retain power amidst crises, focusing on Japanese and English literature. It explores how words aid in resilience and self-renewal. Emphasis is placed on understanding the role of form in texts and socia interactions to deepen comprehension of expression mechanisms. Students of this course can learn the history of English and Japanese literature, particularly in terms of form as well as how the forms work in written texts and human relationships.
Supported Language(s): English, Japanese
Instructors' Voices
We saw pandemics and economic crises change in our lives. We saw terrible massacres taking place all over the world. In times of crisis, many of us tend to lose confidence in words. Words, however, help us to resist threatening forces, too. How does it happen, then? How can words help us to gain confidence and create a new'self'when we have almost lost our way?
In this course, we will explore how words retain their power in texts and various cultural settings, with a particular focus on Japanese and English literature. Such an approach will allow us to delve into the continued dynamism of words. The central focal point of the course is the form. We will learn how form plays important roles not only in written texts and productions on the stage but in mutual interactions and social customs; form provides the basis for our expression in general. By learning to read the mechanisms of form, we can develop a deeper understanding of words.
Highlights
Highlight video:Dialogue with poet Mutsuo Takahashi
Highlight video:Kukai Session and Dialogue with Haiku Poet, Ayaka SATO
Highlight video:Recitation, speech speed and subjet expression