This program brought together faculty and students from the Germanic Languages and Religious Studies to explore the use of animals in the Japanese animated film Pom-Poko.
Pom-Poko is the tale of a group of tanuki, or raccoon-dogs, who find their homes threatened by urban expansion. This example of Japanese anime offered a pointed contrast with traditional Western representations of animals, while simultaneously addressing many of the cultural, philosophical, and ethical debates that surround the relationships humans have with animals. Students from both courses gathered at the Johnston Center to share a dinner and view the film together. After the screening, students discussed a set of questions that challenged them to examine the roles of humans and animals in the film, the responses of the animals to human actions, and the ways Pom-Poko challenged or reinforced the ideas they had learned in class. Each table consisted of two students from each course, which allowed students to bring both a Japanese cultural perspective and a more Western philosophical and ethical perspective, in addition to their own personal conceptions, to the discussion. After each table shared their insights, the faculty members led a discussion with the entire room.
Courses involved:
GERM 052-001: Canine Cultural Studies. Alice Kuzniar This seminar uses dogs to explore the philosophical, ethical and imaginary connections and impasses between the human and animal worlds. We shall historicize and theorize man's relationship to the canine species, asking such questions as: when were dogs treated more as pets than workers and why? What does it mean to define the best of human traits--love, faithfulness, and empathy--via the animal other? As literature and the visual arts explore, our relationship to the dog tests the limits of language and representation. Over the semester, in addition to class discussion of materials, students will develop their own research topics.
REL 073-001: From Dragons and Foxes to Godzilla and Pokemon: Animals in Japanese Myth, Folklore and Religion. Barbara Ambros This course examines the cultural construction of animals in Japanese myth, folklore, and religion. The course will cover various kinds of animals: those that occur in the natural world (insects, snakes, foxes, badgers, monkeys), those that are found in myths (dragons, tengu [goblins], oni [demons]), and those that have appeared in popular media (Godzilla, Pokemon). We will discuss how images of various animals were culturally constructed as tricksters, gods, monsters, or anthropomorphic companions, how animals were realized as divine, demonic, or sentient beings in Buddhism, Shinto, and folk religion, and how animals could serve as metaphors that embodied collective ideals or nightmares.
