J159 SESSION DETAILS

Session 01 Thursday Aug 27 — Orientation

Before session

• Nothing to do.

During session

1. This wasn't a traditional orientation day because I still had not decided some of the details of the class. I needed to meet with the class first. We did that.

After session

• Nothing to do. Wait for the arrival of the syllabus and video shorts explaining the class.

Back to top

Session 02 Tuesday Sep 1 — Community building

Before session

• During the weekend I released several video shorts and a syllabus. I hope you had a chance to read it and view the videos.
• You are now bound by the rules and expectations of it.

During session

You will be joining 2-4 breakout groups today. Then, this weekend you will be reporting about those many individuals that you meet. So you should take notes during these breakout sessions.

The breakout session should have this work-flow:

• A few minutes for everyone in the group to read the profiles of everyone in the group (bCourse - Modules).
• Then, each student asks one profile-related question to each student. If there are three in the group, Student A will ask something to Student B, then Student C. Then it is Student B's turn. They will ask Student A then Student C a question. And so on.
• Then there is a free-form discussion of cancel culture.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE: Here are the questions you will need to answer for the weekend assignment:

• Share with me, in simple form, the full list of students you met with.
• Share with me, in list form, something interesting or surprising to you about each of the students you met.  The names on this list should match the names above. As with ALL of my assignments, I take note of the energy and interest you display when answering open-ended questions like this.
• Share with me, repeating the above list, whether, for each student, you personally feel culturally close or distant to that person (distance, not like/dislike, just "different"). This is confidential between us, of course.

After session

• Nothing to do officially. However, your weekend assignment will go much faster if you answer it in part now, for today's meetings. You will be doing this again Wednesday and Friday, and you memory of today will fade, so writing it now should result in the least amount of time and effort to finish the work—and probably have better quality, too.

Back to top

Session 03 Thursday Sep 3 — "Grotesque realism" | Lavish are the Dead (死者の奢り, 1957 – Oe is a college student)

Before session

• Bakhtin's essay Rabelais and His World (1940) (on bCourse)
• Ōe's short story Lavish are the Dead (1957) (on bCourse)

During session

1. Roll call. Arrive on time, ready to go, mics unmuted at 12:40 or earlier if you wish.
2. I will be asking you questions about the concepts presented in the writings.

"Grotesque" Oxford Reference online

"Comically or repulsively ugly or distorted"
"Incongruous or inappropriate to a shocking degree"
"A very ugly or comically distorted figure or image"
We don't use, in this class, "grotesque" in its ordinary sense. As in: "Ugh! That is grotesque!"

O’Connor as “low art (grotesque realism)” artist:

The novelist with Christian concerns will find modern life distortions which are repugnant to him, and his problem will be to make these appear as distortions to an audience which is used to seeing them as natural; and he may well be forced to take ever more violent means to get his vision across to this hostile audience. When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax a little and use more normal means of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock—to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost-blind you draw large and startling figures.

Oe used Flannery O’Connor’s definition of “sentimentality”, which is an attitude that does not confront reality squarely in the face:

Paris Review (in talking about writing Hikari’s name on a lantern at Hiroshima): “The best definition comes from Flannery O’Connor. She said that sentimentality is an attitude that does not confront reality squarely in the face. To feel sorry for handicapped peoples, she said, is akin to hiding them. She linked this kind of harmful sentimentality to the Nazi’s extermination of the handicapped during World War II.” (p 58)

"Realism" Oxford Reference online

An artistic or literary movement or style characterized by the representation of people or things as they actually are

After session

• Watch for the journal assignment for this day. Watch for the ENGAGE assignment for this day.

Back to top

Session 04 Tuesday Sep 8 — Existentialism

Before session

• Your JOURNAL entry for this session should be finished by 7AM on this day.
• If you had missed the previous class, your VIDEO-C and VIDEO-I should be submitted by 7AM on this day.
• Read with care, extracting the main concepts and trying to grasp the full significance of the essay: Jean-Paul Sartre's 1946 lecture "Existentialism is a humanism" (On bCourse)
• Read with care to understand concepts such as "Hell is other people," "the gaze," and "the Other": "The Most Famous Thing Jean-Paul Sartre Never Said" by Kirk Woodward
• You are expected to know the basics of Existentialism as propounded by Jean-Paul Sartre. Research appropriately. NOT the historical context. This is a concepts class from beginning to end.
• Not required reading but some might find this further YouTube-based commentary useful: Hell Is Other People (Jean-Paul Sartre / No Exit / Existentialism) by Tom Richey
• Note: How to pronounce Jean-Paul Sartre

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call—arrive on time, unmuted for roll call and logged in with video, with the Google video folder open (at the time of this writing is it not yet released, but will be—keep your link)
2. Brief explanation of class setup
3. Video viewing of those not in class the previous session, and class response.
4. Discussion of the main concepts in "Existentialism is a humanism"
5. Discussion of "shame" and "the Other" via Sartre

After session

• If you were present: Complete EXCHANGE.
• If you were absent:
• Complete EXCHANGE
• View the session's Zoom video once it is uploaded
• Based on the session video create and submit a VIDEO-C for the class and a VIDEO-I for me.
• Note that this after-class work is a full substitute for attendance in the case of our three overseas students but a partial substitute for all others because they are expected to attend class. If you miss class and are not an overseas student, complete the Google form. This can help, to some degree,with final course grade calculations.

Back to top

Session 05 Thursday Sep 10 — Oe Kenzaburo 大江健三郎 | Course themes

NOTE: The proper representation of his name in English is Ōe Kenzaburō but when I am in design mode here on Dreamweaver the keyboard shortcuts are disabled and often I am just in a hurry. So you will sometimes see "Ōe" but will usually see "Oe." This can be true of other words, too. You, too, are free to skip the use of macrons in this class.

Before session

• Read with general attentiveness to get an overview of his life: Kenzaburo Oe: Laughing Prophet and Soulful Healer by Michiko Niikuni Wilson (2007)
• Read once now to get a sense of the basic share of Oe's career, THEN REVIEW BEFORE EVERY NOVEL, to contextualize that work: Oe basic biography (on bCourse) ... also on bCourse - files are folders of pictures of Oe and his hometown, if interested
• Read with care to extract Oe's concepts and opinions and working methods: Oe-ParisReview_Winter 2007 (bCourse - Files - Other scholarship)
• Read first: A soul wailing in darkness plus Weil (bCourse - files - Hikari's music) then listen to the three songs in that same folder. Arrive to class with an opinion as to whether you feel Oe has interpreted his son's music correctly.
• Read over the themes well enough to describe one if called upon. This file is not yet ready. When it is I'll announce it but probably not bother to go back to this page to type the information here.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call—arrive on time, unmuted for roll call and logged in with video, with the Google video folder open (at the time of this writing is it not yet released, but will be—keep your link)
2. Video viewing of those not in class the previous session, and class response.
3. Take aways from the Nobel biography
4. Oe's biography
5. Oe's working style and other Paris Review questions
6. Hikari's music
7. Themes

After session

• If you were present: Complete EXCHANGE.
• If you were absent:
• Complete EXCHANGE
• View the session's Zoom video once it is uploaded
• Based on the session video create and submit a VIDEO-C for the class and a VIDEO-I for me.
• Note that this after-class work is a full substitute for attendance in the case of our three overseas students but a partial substitute for all others because they are expected to attend class. If you miss class and are not an overseas student, complete the Google form. This can help, to some degree,with final course grade calculations.

Back to top

Session 06 Tuesday Sep 15 — Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids (MEMUSHIRI - 芽むしり小撃ち, 1958 – Oe is a college student), first third of novel

Before session

NOTE 1: The reading companion is critical to our class. Do not treat it as secondary and follow those ideas with further research whenever something interests you. But always ponder them even when not doing further research

NOTE 2: The reading companion content has been a joint project between students and me. I invite you to contribute content! Email it to me. MEMUSHIRI is almost empty of notes, unlike the other works.

NOTE 3: We use tags for all the major works and themes. The works tags are listed at the top of this page. The themes tags are in this form — [THEME] — and are on the themes word doc. This format rule is so we can word search each others' submissions. So, never never Nip the Buds, always MEMUSHIRI.

• There is a THEMES JOURNAL entry due for MEMUSHIRI that must cover Chapters 1-4 and Tsuboi / Murphy.
• Read with care the "general" section of the "Reading Companion." It can be found on the Sonic top page.
• Read the notes for MEMUSHIRI that are on the "Reading Companion."
• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, MEMUSHIRI Chapters 1-4.
• Check the bio again for Oe, and note when "Seventeen" and "Death of a Youth" were written in relation to MEMUSHIRI.
• Read for ideas relevant to understanding MEMUSHIRI and be ready to share them in class orally or in writing: Files > Other scholarship > Tsuboi and Murphy - 2018 - Herz und mund und tat und terrorismus (heart, mout.pdf

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call—arrive on time, unmuted for roll call and logged in with video, with the Google video folder open.
2. Video viewing of those not in class the previous session, and class response.
3. About contributing to the Reading Companion.
4. About the importance of the Reading Companion.
5. I will be drawing cards, asking students what they think of the "General Section" of the "Reading Companion."
6. I will be drawing cards, asking students to situate MEMUSHIRI in the context of Oe's writing and life history.
7. We will share briefly thoughts on the Tsuboi and Murphy article.
8. We will discuss our class themes, and our class themes as they relate to MEMUSHIRI Chpts 1-4.

After session

• If you were not present for this session, watch for a possible ENGAGE assignment from me.
• If you were not present for this session, view the Zoom video once it is available and submit a VIDEO-C that comments on that session and, if you wish, posits questions or topics for the upcoming session.
• Check your EXCHANGE duties. Watch for the completion of journal entries. If a student has not completed their entry within 24 hours past its due time (7AM the morning of the session it is about), you no longer need to continue checking for that entry.
• I believe the add/drop deadline is Sept 16.

Back to top

Session 07 Thursday Sep 17 — Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids (MEMUSHIRI - 芽むしり小撃ち, 1958 – Oe is a college student), middle third of novel

Before session

• There is a THEMES JOURNAL entry due for MEMUSHIRI that must cover Chapters 5-7.
• Check to confirm that you have made comments on the EXCHANGE files of other students, if those students had been assigned to you.
• Check to confirm that you have made comments to comments that others put on your own EXCHANGE file.
• If you were not present for the past session, submit a short video to VIDEO-C on bCourse.
• Read the notes for MEMUSHIRI that are on the "Reading Companion." — Currently there are no entries for these chapters but that could change.
• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, MEMUSHIRI Chapters 5-7.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call—arrive on time, unmuted for roll call and logged in with video, with the Google video folder open.
2. Video viewing of those not in class the previous session, and class response.
3. We will discuss our class themes, and our class themes as they relate to MEMUSHIRI Chpts 5-7.

After session

• If you were not present for this session, watch for a possible ENGAGE assignment from me.
• If you were not present for this session, view the Zoom video once it is available and submit a VIDEO-C that comments on that session and, if you wish, posits questions or topics for the upcoming session.
• Check your EXCHANGE duties. Watch for the completion of journal entries. If a student has not completed their entry within 24 hours past its due time (7AM the morning of the session it is about), you no longer need to continue checking for that entry.

Back to top

Session 08 Tuesday Sep 22 — Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids (MEMUSHIRI - 芽むしり小撃ち, 1958 – Oe is a college student), final third of novel

*This class requires considerable preparation for me, with limited time before class to complete that work. I will open the Zoom session and I will arrive as soon as I can. Spend the time not silently, not working on other things, but rather discussion your submissions. Someone can volunteer to lead that discussion if nothing is happening. I might even grade this segment on engagement, so make something happen.

Before session

• ENGAGE200922 is due.
• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, MEMUSHIRI Chapters 8-10.
• There is a THEMES JOURNAL entry due for MEMUSHIRI that must cover Chapters 8-10.
• Check to confirm that you have made comments on the EXCHANGE files of other students, if those students had been assigned to you.
• Check to confirm that you have made comments to comments that others put on your own EXCHANGE file.
• If you were not present for the previous session, submit a short video to VIDEO-C on bCourse.
• Read the notes for MEMUSHIRI that are on the "Reading Companion." — Currently there are no entries for these chapters but that could change.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call.
2. This class will focus on THEMES in MEMUSHIRI using the submissions to ENGAGE200922. I might provide text of those submissions or I might ask students to summarize for us what they submitted. Or both.

After session

• The Thursday assignment is challenging. Budget your time.

Back to top

Session 09 Thursday Sep 24 — Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids (MEMUSHIRI - 芽むしり小撃ち, 1958 – Oe is a college student), Hybrid Japanese-English day

*This class requires considerable preparation for me, with limited time before class to complete that work. I will open the Zoom session and I will arrive as soon as I can. Spend the time not silently, not working on other things, but rather discussion your submissions. Someone can volunteer to lead that discussion if nothing is happening. I might even grade this segment on engagement, so make something happen.

Before session

• ENGAGE200924 is due.
• Read with thought and care, either one, some or all of the original Japanese passages, or the two assigned articles. ENGAGE200924 explains your choices and what is to be done.
• There is a THEMES JOURNAL entry due for MEMUSHIRI that can be about anything you wish.
• Check to confirm that you have made comments on the EXCHANGE files of other students, if those students had been assigned to you.
• Check to confirm that you have made comments to comments that others put on your own EXCHANGE file.
• If you were not present for the previous session, submit a short video to VIDEO-C on bCourse.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call.
2. This class will be split into two segments, not necessarily of equal size. This will depend on the submissions to ENGAGE200924. We will consider the original Japanese and we will consider the articles but in which order isn't yet decided. That will depend on the submissions.

After session

• Nothing in particular. KOJIN will be assigned for Tuesday.

Back to top

Session 10 Tuesday Sep 29 — A Personal Matter (KOJIN - 個人的な体験, 1964 – shortly after the birth of Hikari), first third of novel

Before session

• Reading/Research
• Review Oe's biography.
• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, KOJIN Chapters 1-4.
• Read with thought and care the Reading Companion notes (which includes the links unless marked as optional) for these chapters ... and explore further as your spirit moves you.
• Read the "During Session" section below to see what you need to be able to do during class.
• Reading/Writing
• Journal—There is a THEMES JOURNAL entry due for KOJIN that must cover Chapters 1-4.
• Exchange—Check to confirm that you have made comments on the EXCHANGE files of other students, if those students had been assigned to you.
• Comment on exchange—Check to confirm that you have made comments to comments that others put on your own EXCHANGE file.
• Session Questions—Check to see whether you have "Session Questions" duties for this session.
• Submission
• If you were not present for the previous session, submit a short video to VIDEO-C on bCourse.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call.
2. Lina video, Session 7 and response.
3. Lina video, Session 9 and response.
4. If anyone has done further thinking on The Plague and MEMUSHIRI, please share at this time.
5. Sharing of "summary statements" of MEMUSHIRI.
6. Your thoughts on where we are in Oe's life.
7. Be able to say something about how the connection to Apollinaire might be more than just about shared head injuries. Why make this connection at all?
8. Be ready to explain Himiko based on her name and her interest in William Blake.
9. Be ready to connect the specific content of the Blake painting to the narrative.
10. Be ready to explain "pluralistic universes" and relate that to our theme COMPREHENSION.
11. I might also draw discussion questions from your submissions to "Session Questions" Session 10.

After session

• Nothing related to this session.

Back to top

Session 11 Thursday Oct 1 — A Personal Matter (KOJIN - 個人的な体験, 1964 – shortly after the birth of Hikari), middle third of novel

Before session

• *Note that there is an invitation on the Reading Companion related to Hemingway.
• Reading/Research
• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, KOJIN Chapters 5-9.
• Read with thought and care the Reading Companion notes (which includes the links unless marked as optional) for these chapters ... and explore further as your spirit moves you.
• Read the "During Session" section below to see what you need to be able to do during class.
• Reading/Writing
• Journal—There is a THEMES JOURNAL entry due for KOJIN that must cover Chapters 5-9.
• Exchange—Check to confirm that you have made comments on the EXCHANGE files of other students, if those students had been assigned to you.
• Comment on exchange—Check to confirm that you have made comments to comments that others put on your own EXCHANGE file.
• Session Questions—Check to see whether you have "Session Questions" duties for this session.
• Submission
• If you were not present for the previous session, submit a short video to VIDEO-C on bCourse.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call.
2. VIDEO-C and response.
3. Be ready to comment on connections (or not) between Hemingway's passage quoted from The Sun Also Rises and the KOJIN passage.
4. Did anyone access the Chinese article on Hemingway and Oe?
5. Did anyone read The Daily Beast article?
6. I will likely draw discussion questions from your submissions to "Session Questions" Session 11.

After session

• Nothing related to this session.

Back to top

Session 12 Tuesday Oct 6 — A Personal Matter (KOJIN - 個人的な体験, 1964 – shortly after the birth of Hikari), final third of novel

Before session

• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, KOJIN Chapters 10-13.
• Read with thought and care the Reading Companion notes (which includes the links unless marked as optional) for these chapters ... and explore further as your spirit moves you.
• Read the "During Session" section below to see what you need to be able to do during class.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll Call.
2. VIDEO-C viewing with response from one student only.
3. Students should be ready to share their thoughts on the five main themes we focus on.
4. Students compare this work with MEMUSHIRI.
5. Students make connections between KOJIN and My Life in the Bush of Ghosts.
6. Students make connections between KOJIN and Macbeth.
7. Students make connections between KOJIN and Kafka (and do a bit of research on Kafka if they don't know him well).
8. Students share general thoughts on KOJIN.

After session

• Nothing in particular.

Back to top

Session 13 Thursday Oct 8 — A Personal Matter (KOJIN - 個人的な体験, 1964 – shortly after the birth of Hikari), Hybrid Japanese-English day

Before session

• EVERYONE
• Everyone reads the "後書 / Atogaki / Post Script" that is in the KOJIN folder. It is there in both Japanese and English translation. Pick one.
• ENGLISH GROUP
• Everyone in this group reads, submits, and is ready to present the key conclusions of bCourse - other scholarship - Falke - 1974 - Japanese Tradition in Kenzaburo Oe's A Personal Ma.pdf
• Everyone in this group reads, submits, and is ready to present the theme and key conclusions of bCourse - other scholarship - Shek-Noble - 2019 - A (Not So) Personal Matter Understanding Disabili.pdf OR reads, submits, and is ready to present the theme and key conclusions of bCourse - other scholarship - Frentiu - 2011 - Kenzaburō Ōe, A Personal Matter [1964] Personal H.pdf
• JAPANESE GROUP
• Everyone reading in Japanese reads the PDF files that are associated with A, B, and/or C, including reading the vocabulary with care. Everyone reviews (or reads for the first time) the English for these passages. These students should submit and be prepared not only to speak to the issue of the experience of reading in Japanese and what it might suggest of our themes but bring to our attention vocabulary notes if appropriate.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll Call.
2. VIDEO-C viewing with response from one student only.
3. Randomly selected students will present on Falke.
4. Randomly selected students will present on Shek-Noble.
5. Randomly selected students will present on Frentiu.
6. Randomly selected students will present on reading in Japanese.

After session

• Nothing in particular.

Back to top

Session 14 Tuesday Oct 13 — Aghwee, the Sky Monster (AGHWEE - 空の怪物アグイー, 1964 – same time as KOJIN)

Before session

• Read with care the version of AGHWEE that is a PDF on bCourse (and Reading Companion notes of course, always). If you read in another language, refer to the bCourse version anyway, for the multimedia links that are there.
• Read the "During Session" section below to see what you need to be able to do during class.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call.
2. Announcement about the place of Reading Companion notes in Themes Journal. (Always list, always consider, write something if it is theme related) and any other assigned reading
3. VIDEO-C viewing with response from one student only.
4. Do you have questions about "Theme Ruminations"?
5. Arrive with an answer to this question: Which of the references to outside objects (allusions to authors, paintings, whatever) seems most effective to you in adding meaning to the narrative and what might that added meaning be? Notice the keyword is "most," I did not say only "seems effective."
6. Of course we will be comparing AGHWEE with KOJIN.

After session

• Nothing to do.

Back to top

Session 15 Thursday Oct 15 — William Faulkner

Before session

*All of the below files are on bCourse in a "William Faulkner" folder

• Read with thought and care: Faulkner and Oe, Chapt 01 (Kimura 2007)
• This is the longest, most difficult, and most important of the readings assigned for this session. Everyone should put something in their journal on this reading.
• Read with thought and care: Yoknapatawpha County - Wikipedia
• This is very useful background information for MANEN. Also on this document is a pronunciation guide to the word "Yoknapatawpha" as a link towards the top, near the title of the entry.
• Read with thought and care: Absalom, Absalom! - Wikipedia
• This PDF version of the Wiki entry has red side lines. That is the part to read with care. Be able to repeat in class the essence of this. This is the second most important reading in this list.
• Read with thought and care: Absalom, Absalom! excerpts (Faulkner 1936)
• Honestly, my heart races when I read these excerpts because of the combined power of Oe and Faulkner as a "writing team" (they weren't). This passage won't make sense now, but by the end of the MANEN you can see deep into the breath-taking level of channeling Oe has done with Absalom, Absalom! This is Oe at his best. We will reread this when the time comes, but I want you to read it once now.
• Read with thought and care: Faulknerian sentences (Go Down Moses, The Bear)
• We read this to talk about sentence structure
• Read with thought and care: William Faulkner - The Bear (1942)
• This is a similar reading assignment to My Life in the Bush of Ghosts: large, powerful beasts or spirits or energies in movement. It seems that something like this lives in the forests around the valley of MANEN, from which spirits sometime arrive. This "feel" crosses into MANEN in creative ways not at first apparent.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call.
2. VIDEO-C viewing with response from one student only.
3. There is too much to cover in these readings. I will move from one to the other as seems best as the session progresses. Please read with care. Kimura will not be easy to understand for some. Do your very best because the ideas here are key to MANEN and JINSEI (our last novel) both. What is grief? What is time? Where is the past?

After session

• You will have the first Theme Ruminations due. Work on that.

Back to top

Session 16 Tuesday Oct 20 — The Silent Cry (MANEN - 万延元年のフットボール, 1967 – three years after KOJIN), first quarter of the novel

Before session

• I strongly recommend but don't require that you listen to "State of Siege" on our bCourse site, at Media Gallery. Portions of this recording are unsettling.
• IMPORTANT: Read the chapter titles information for MANEN Chapters 1-3 that can be found at the top of the Reading Companion page for MANEN. Be able to connect this chapter title with the chapter's content.
• Use the "MAN-EN Tree Chapter 04" PDF to help keep track of the novel's characters. See bCourse > Files > MANEN > Support files
• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, MANEN Chapters 1-3.
• Read with thought and care the Reading Companion notes (which includes the links unless marked as optional) for these chapters ... and explore further as your spirit moves you.
• Read the "During Session" section below to see what you need to be able to do during class.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call.
2. VIDEO-C viewing with response from one student only.
3. We discuss these chapters.

After session

• Nothing in particular to do for this session.

Back to top

Session 17 Thursday Oct 22 — The Silent Cry (MANEN - 万延元年のフットボール, 1967 – three years after KOJIN), second quarter of the novel

Before session

• IMPORTANT: Read the chapter titles information for MANEN Chapters 4-6 that can be found at the top of the Reading Companion page for MANEN. Be able to connect this chapter title with the chapter's content.
• Use the "MAN-EN Tree Chapter 04" PDF to help keep track of the novel's characters. See bCourse > Files > MANEN > Support files
• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, MANEN Chapters 4-6.
• Read with thought and care the Reading Companion notes (which includes the links unless marked as optional) for these chapters ... and explore further as your spirit moves you.
• Read the "During Session" section below to see what you need to be able to do during class.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call.
2. VIDEO-C viewing with response from one student only.
3. We discuss these chapters.

After session

• Nothing in particular to do for this session.

Back to top

Session 18 Tuesday Oct 27 — The Silent Cry (MANEN - 万延元年のフットボール, 1967 – three years after KOJIN), third quarter of the novel

Before session

• IMPORTANT: Read the chapter titles information for MANEN Chapters 7-9 that can be found at the top of the Reading Companion page for MANEN. Be able to connect this chapter title with the chapter's content.
• Use the "MAN-EN Tree Chapter 04" PDF to help keep track of the novel's characters. See bCourse > Files > MANEN > Support files
• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, MANEN Chapters 7-9.
• Read with thought and care the Reading Companion notes (which includes the links unless marked as optional) for these chapters ... and explore further as your spirit moves you. NOTE: In particular follow the link to the JSTOR article on nembutsu odori and read as much of that as you think is useful for this novel but be sure to read pages 9-10.
• Listen to the bon odori (nembutsu sound) files at bCourse > Files > MANEN > Support files
• Read the "During Session" section below to see what you need to be able to do during class.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call.
2. VIDEO-C viewing with response from one student only.
3. We discuss these chapters.

After session

• Nothing in particular to do for this session.

Back to top

Session 19 Thursday Oct 29 — The Silent Cry (MANEN - 万延元年のフットボール, 1967 – three years after KOJIN), final quarter of the novel

Before session

• IMPORTANT: Read the chapter titles information for MANEN Chapters 10-13 that can be found at the top of the Reading Companion page for MANEN. Be able to connect this chapter title with the chapter's content.
• Use the "MAN-EN Tree Chapter 04" PDF to help keep track of the novel's characters. See bCourse > Files > MANEN > Support files OR "MAN-EN Tree 1202 - spoiler alert" at the same location
• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, MANEN Chapters 10-13.
• Read with thought and care the Reading Companion notes (which includes the links unless marked as optional) for these chapters ... and explore further as your spirit moves you.
• The Ray Stevens link is just for fun. You can skip it if you want but it IS fun to listen to, in you need a smile in your day.
• The Nausea link (the aged horse chestnut," on the other hand, is not something to smile about but please be sure to follow the link and read the FULL web page, not just the part on the Reading Companion.
• Read the "During Session" section below to see what you need to be able to do during class.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call.
2. VIDEO-C viewing with response from one student only.
3. We discuss these chapters.

After session

• Nothing in particular to do for this session.

Back to top

Session 20 Tuesday Nov 3 — The Silent Cry (MANEN - 万延元年のフットボール, 1967 – three years after KOJIN), hybrid Jse-Eng day

Before session

• ENGLISH GROUP
• See the instructions at the bCourse assignment for submission for this day. The articles are:
• Pollack - 1992 - Archaeology of difference
• Napier - 1993 - Marginal Arcadias
• Lai - 2000 - The Anxiety of Ambiguity
• JAPANESE GROUP
• Everyone reading in Japanese reads the PDF files that are associated with Chpts 1, 7, and/or 12, including reading the vocabulary with care. Everyone reviews (or reads for the first time) the English for these passages. These students should submit and be prepared not only to speak to the issue of the experience of reading in Japanese and what it might suggest of our themes but bring to our attention vocabulary notes if appropriate.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll Call.
2. VIDEO-C viewing with response from one student only.
3. Students who volunteer will present their thoughts derived from reading in Japanese.
4. Students who volunteer will present article observations, interpretations, and conclusions and, if time, personal reaction on Lai.
5. Students who volunteer will present article observations, interpretations, and conclusions and, if time, personal reaction on Napier.
6. Students who volunteer will present article observations, interpretations, and conclusions and, if time, personal reaction on Pollack.

After session

• Nothing in particular. LINA: Note that Thursday is an optional day. You do not need to submit a VIDEO-C about anything on Thursday but you are welcome to if you heard something that day that interests you.

Back to top

Session 21 Thursday Nov 5 — Post-election day (maybe not post-election) hangout (attendance optional)

Before session

• Nothing to do.

During session (can change last minute)

1. No roll call taken.
2. Chat about whatever we wish. Students can come and go freely. They can just be there listening while working on something else, too. However, if logged in, I still request video presence.

After session

• Nothing to do.

Back to top

Session 22 Tuesday Nov 10 — Tricksters, Grace, American Southern Gothic writers

Before session

• Nothing to do. However, this lecture is related to the Flannery O'Connor readings / William Faulkner reading due Thursday, so you might want to start on that.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Tricksters (as a literary trope).
2. Catholic Grace. "Gain" as a moment of "actual Grace." Enterprise (works). Askesis and low points.
• The Catholic Understanding of Grace.pdf
• CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA/ Actual Grace.pdf
• Do you think Bird's ultimate decision in KOJIN is a moment of "actual Grace"?
• Do you think Taka's "I told the truth" is a moment of "gain"?
• Do you remember what the role of "work" was for Jean-Paul Sartre?
• Where is "work" or "enterprise" discussed in these two articles?
• lecture/ Schopenhauer on askesis.pdf
3. Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner, and "Southern Gothic writers" — racial tensions (ambiguity)
4. Violence and suffering in O'Connor and Oe.

After session

• Take on the assigned reading for Thursday. This is the basis for JINSEI.

Back to top

Session 23 Thursday Nov 12 — Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner (maybe) short stories

Before session

• READ THESE O'CONNOR SHORT STORIES BEFORE READING THE CRITICISM IN THE SECOND LIST, BELOW (all O'Connor reading is in a bCourse files folder "Flannery O'Connor")
• Oconnor - A Good Man Is Hard To Find v191108
• Oconnor - Everything That Rises v191108
• CRITICISM / ANALYSIS
• Oconnor - On Grotesque v191108
• On Oconnor - Grimshaw v191108
• On Oconnor - Muller v191108
• On Oconnor - Paulson v191108
• FAULKNER
• Still in the middle of deciding whether to add this one.

During session (can change last minute)

1. We discuss the O'Connor stories.
2. We discuss the Faulkner story, too, if assigned.

After session

• Nothing to do related to this session.

Back to top

Session 24 Tuesday Nov 17 — An Echo of Heaven (JINSEI - 人生の親戚, 1989 – after various overseas lectureships), first quarter of novel

Before session

• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, JINSEI Chapters 1-3.
• Skim the bio of the translator Mitsutani that is inside the JINSEI > support folder.
• Note that I have made a graphic of the main characters of JINSEI that can be very helpful in keeping everyone organized. That, too is inside the JINSEI > support folder.
• View the Betty Boop clip inside the JINSEI > support folder > "simpleText" "Betty Boop Ha! Ha! Ha! (1934)"(720p).
• Read or skim for basic ideas the material inside the "Kim Chi Ha" folder. This is listed here because of the order these ideas come up but it is should be a primary focus of your reading.
• Read with thought and care the Reading Companion notes for these chapters AND to several pre-chapter introductory remarks. Read all links. Explore further as your spirit moves you.
• Read the "During Session" section below to see what you need to be able to do during class.

During session (can change last minute)

• Roll call.
• VIDEO-C viewing with response from one student.
• Be ready to cover what has happened in Oe's life between MANEN and JINSEI.
• Be ready to tell me some basics about the translator without checking notes.
• Be ready to tell me about Oe's life between MANEN and JINSEI without checking notes.
• CHAPTER 1
• Be ready to tell me Theosophy without checking notes
• Be ready to share thoughts on Blake's relationship to Theosophy and Blake across the books we have read. Think ahead. This isn't a question you can formulate an answer for on the spot.
• Be ready to tell the class about Kim Chi Ha in a way that is relevant to our readings (so not just a "basics of his life and work" type of comment.
• What is the "wide open smile"?
• Describe the mood of the Betty Boop video.

After session

• Nothing in particular to do for this session. However, continue JOURNAL and EXCHANGE work. You will notice that the charts have changed slightly.

Back to top

Session 25 Thursday Nov 19 — An Echo of Heaven (JINSEI - 人生の親戚, 1989 – after various overseas lectureships), second quarter of novel

Before session

• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, JINSEI Chapters 4-6.
• Read with thought and care the Reading Companion notes (which includes the links unless marked as optional) for these chapters ... and explore further as your spirit moves you.
• Read the "During Session" section below to see what you need to be able to do during class.

During session (can change last minute)

• Roll call.
• VIDEO-C viewing with response from one student only.
• CHAPTER 4
• What did the Reading Companion have to say about O'Connor?
• When else did we read about Macbeth?
• Tell me about "remorse" in the complex way it is presented in our JINSEI + Reading Companion components? This will be the key term of the novel.
• Be ready to talk about The Silver Dove. And is there any relationship to Russian defamiliarization?
• CHAPTER 5
• Become very familiar with "The Village Rector". This is the basic plot template against which Marie will be compared.
• What is "sackcloth" and why do we care?
• Tell me about "pockmarked women".
• CHAPTER 6
• Did O'Connor use crutches? Thoughts?
• Again, be ready to talk about Blake in both Chapter 6 and 7.
• Read the Yeat's Reading Companion entry with care. And, what is the "spiritus mundi"?

After session

• Nothing in particular to do for this session. However, continue JOURNAL and EXCHANGE work. You will notice that the charts have changed slightly.

Back to top

Session 26 Tuesday Nov 24 — An Echo of Heaven (JINSEI - 人生の親戚, 1989 – after various overseas lectureships), third quarter of novel

Before session

• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, JINSEI Chapters 7-9.
• Read with thought and care the Reading Companion notes (which includes the links unless marked as optional) for these chapters ... and explore further as your spirit moves you.
• Read the "During Session" section below to see what you need to be able to do during class.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call.
2. Videos: Lina, Irving
3. CHAPTER 7
• Be ready to talk about "The Second Coming" (again)
• Density of time returns. Be ready to "explain" this and relate it to MANEN. What of the formula we encountered in Faulkner and Oe, that is "grief = is"?
4. CHAPTER 8
• The Brantôme entries are important for the final chapters of the novel.
• Manichaeism. Be able to say something about this but good luck with that! This isn't easy going. Don't put too much time into it.
5. CHAPTER 9
• What was Blake's relationship to the Swedenborgians?
• What was Oe's relationship to the Swedenborgians?
• Can you say something about trees and the Swedenborgians?
• Be ready to discuss the Reading Companion details about St. Augustine.
• Tell me about The Divine Comedy.

After session

• Have a safe and pleasant Thanksgiving Break.

Back to top

Thursday Nov 26 — No class

Session 27 Tuesday Dec 1 — An Echo of Heaven (JINSEI - 人生の親戚, 1989 – after various overseas lectureships), final quarter of novel

Before session

• Read with thought and care, themes in mind, JINSEI Chapters 10-In lieu of an epilogue.
• Read with thought and care the Reading Companion notes (which includes the links unless marked as optional) for these chapters ... and explore further as your spirit moves you.
• Read the "During Session" section below to see what you need to be able to do during class.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Roll call.
2. Video-C submission: Lina Session 26. (And, Lina, Alissa has uploaded MANY videos for you!)
3. "Notice, by the way, how we are still drawing from approximately the same time period (early 20th century) as Bely, Betty Boop, Magoo, O'Connor, etc."
• I'll draw cards for all of these below. Be ready to answer promptly but you can have notes you made open:
• Who was Bely (dates, short comment about this individual, connection to JINSEI)?
• Who was Betty Boop (dates, short comment about this individual, connection to JINSEI)?
• Who was Magoo (dates, short comment about this individual, connection to JINSEI)?
• Who was O'Connor (dates, short comment about this individual, connection to JINSEI)?
• Who was Faulkner (dates, short comment about this individual, connection to JINSEI)?
• What was Theosophy (dates, short comment about this group, connection to JINSEI)?
• Who was Yeats (dates, short comment about this individual, connection to JINSEI, connection to Theosophy)?
• Who was Blake (dates, short comment about this individual, connection to JINSEI, connection to Theosophy)?
4. Describe the paintings of El Greco.
5. Spend some time thinking on this one and be ready to tell the class about the "alien" and "different" worlds and why we care.
6. KEY: Spend some time thinking on this one and be ready to comment on: "Even if it's about me, what K writes will be his own story, one acceptable to him—it's only natural, isn't it?"
7. KEY: What does "relatives in life" (人生の親戚、jinsei no shinseki) really mean? Put some thought into this.

After session

• Watch for a possible assignment related to this class.

Back to top

Session 28 Thursday Dec 3 — An Echo of Heaven (JINSEI - 人生の親戚, 1989 – after various overseas lectureships) hybrid Jse-Eng day

Due to construction noise at my end, this class is managed from a Google sheet. Go to: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tvy0hzlNNTt02tg_cwsHAExgTihi3Z4uiE7UtC23q-w/edit?usp=sharing

Before session

• If you are reading in Japanese, you can read any or all of the below:
• At bCourse > Files > [JINSEI] Echo of Heaven > JINSEI Chapt 01
• At bCourse > Files > [JINSEI] Echo of Heaven > Other passages in Jse with glosses > 12 JINSEI B and/or 13 JINSEI C.
• If you are reading in English read both of the below and prepare something for the prompts:
• "A Japanese writer in the periferia: Kenzaburō Ōe in Mexico." DetrásDelSol (blog), January 8, 2020. https://matchiappe.blog/2020/01/08/a-japanese-writer-in-the-periferia-kenzaburo-oe-in-mexico/.
• Use the above URL or download the PDF at bCourse > Files > Other scholarship > "A Japanese writer in the periferia / Kenzaburō Ōe in Mexico – Detrás Del Sol.pdf"
• Prompt: Is there something you understand better about JINSEI having read this article?
• Swain, David. "“Something Akin to Grace: The Journey of Kenzaburo Oe." Christian Century 114, no. 37 (December 24, 1997): 1226–31.
• See bCourse > Files > Other scholarship > "Swain - 1997 - Something Akin to Grace The Journey of Kenzaburo.pdf"
• Prompt: Critique Swain's a) general interpretation of JINSE and b) Grace in JINSEI.

During session (can change last minute)

1. Silent roll call by screen presence
2. Brief comments about Theme Ruminations 2d and interviews.
3. Video-C submissions: Lina Session 26. (And, Lina, now Drew has also uploaded MANY videos for you!)
4. Japanese passages.
5. Swain's article.
6. Detrás Del Sol blog.

After session

• Time to write!

Back to top

Special Session 5PM (Pacific Time) Tuesday Dec 7 — Final Interview

Before session

• Review both of your Themes Ruminations and have them open and ready to refer to when you join the interview.
• Be read to respond to questions about any of the themes.

Interviewed during this session:

• Lina

After session

• Nothing to do! You are finished!

Back to top

RRR 01 Tuesday Dec 8 — Final Interviews

Before session

• Review both of your Themes Ruminations and have them open and ready to refer to when you join the interview.
• Be read to respond to questions about any of the themes.

During session these student will be interviewed between 5-15 minutes in an unannounced order. Join the waiting room at 12:40 PM.

• Alissa, CaiQin, Drew, Isra, Matthew, Miki, Nicholas, Victoria L

After session

• Nothing to do! You are finished!

Back to top

RRR 02 Thursday Dec 10 — Final Interviews

Before session

• Review both of your Themes Ruminations and have them open and ready to refer to when you join the interview.
• Be read to respond to questions about any of the themes.

During session these student will be interviewed between 5-15 minutes in an unannounced order. Join the waiting room at 12:40 PM.

• Cathy, Crystal, Elena, Irving, J, James, Victoria B

After session

• Nothing to do! You are finished!

Back to top

Special Session 7AM (Pacific Time) Friday Dec 11 — Final Interview

Before session

• Review both of your Themes Ruminations and have them open and ready to refer to when you join the interview.
• Be read to respond to questions about any of the themes.

Interviewed during this session:

• Matilda

After session

• Nothing to do! You are finished!

Back to top

Final Exam Period

This course does not have a final exam.

Back to top