Film & Media Studies 437 - A Media History of Anime

Fall
2021
01
4.00
Timothy Van Compernolle

W 02:00PM-04:45PM

Amherst College
FAMS-437-01-2122F
CHAP 101
tvancompernolle@amherst.edu
ASLC-437-01,FAMS-437-01

(Offered as ASLC 437 and FAMS 437) Japanese animation (popularly known as anime) is ubiquitous in today’s world. This seminar traces the history of animation in Japan, from the earliest known work in 1907, stenciled directly onto a strip of celluloid, to the media convergence of the present. Animation allows us access to a larger history of media in Japan, including cinema, television, and today’s hybrid “contents industry.” Animation is also shaped by these many media forms. Topics include the relationship between animation and the state during wartime, the rise of a commercial industry, the analog revolution of the multi-plane camera, the digital revolution of the computer, and the stream of experimental animation across the twentieth century, among others. Course materials include films, television shows, computer entertainments, technical readings, and theoretical essays. Assignments, centered on a final research paper, are designed to cultivate research skills that can be applied to popular culture texts.

Limited to 25 students. Fall Semester. Professor Van Compernolle.

Permission is required for interchange registration during all registration periods.