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Now in 2015, we are near the midpoint of a decade that, for Japan, stretches from the tsunami and nuclear plant disasters of March 11, 2011 to the opening of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. These are both deeply symbolic markers and powerfully transformative events for a country that is suspended between stagnation and progress, between precarity and affluence, between a known but contested past and an unknowable future.

What is the shape of contemporary Japan, from what conditions did it arise, and what lessons does it hold for the broader contours of a late modern world? What are the particular contributions of an anthropological view of the society and its lifeways? These are the key questions that underlie this course.

The course meets Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:00-10:15 a.m.
Writing Workshops/ Discussion Sections on Thursdays

Instructor: William Kelly
Department of Anthropology, Yale University

This course is offered in the Writing Requirement program of Yale College. Students may only enroll in Anthro 254a as a Writing Requirement course. Yale College regulations do not permit non-WR enrollment. The course has no prerequisites, and no preferences is given to seniors, majors, etc.

My office is in Room 201, 10 Sachem Street
(This is the building at the corner of Whitney Avenue and Sachem Street)
My office hours are Wednesdays, 3:00-5:00 PM, and by appointment

My office telephone is 432-3688
My email is william.kelly@yale.edu
My research/teaching home page is here.

2015 Teaching Fellows

Section 1: Aina Begim, Ph. D. candidate, Anthropology
Section 2: Alyssa Paredes, Ph. D. candidate, Anthropology

NAVIGATING THIS SITE: Yale undergraduates may access this site through the Classes V-2 server, but I would recommend that you enter directly through its URL. The buttons along the top line open pages that offer general information about the course (under “About the course”) and details of course topics (e.g., “Assignments” and “Course syllabus”). Students will find the “Course Units” menu along the left side more useful in coordinating reading assignments, lecture outlines, and other resources on a daily basis.

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