Fans of Japanese popular culture are driving new curricula and pedagogies as higher numbers of students enroll in Japanese language and culture courses. Freedman will explain how popular culture provides a means for discussing society, economics, politics, and identity. She will also examine unique legal and ethical issues that accompany the use of Japanese popular culture in the classroom.
Alisa Freedman is a Professor of Japanese Literature, Cultural Studies, and Gender at the University of Oregon, the Editor-in-Chief of the U.S.–Japan Women’s Journal, and the Chair of the Northeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies (2019-2020). Her books include Tokyo in Transit: Japanese Culture on the Rails and Road, an annotated translation of Kawabata Yasunari’s The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa, and co-edited volumes on Modern Girls on the Go: Gender, Mobility, and Labor in Japan and Introducing Japanese Popular Culture. She has published widely on Japanese modernism, Tokyo studies, youth culture, gender, television, humor as social critique, teaching pedagogies, and intersections of print and digital media, along with publishing translations of Japanese literature. Alisa has been nationally recognized for excellence in mentoring. She enjoys participating in anime cons, Japan festivals, TEDx, and other entertaining academic events.
All are welcome.
Originally published at asia.nd.edu.