URBAN SPACE STUDIES*

概要

COURSE OVERVIEW This course aims to introduce what is arguably the most complex product of society and Japanese society in particular — the city, and to concentrate on the city of Tokyo. Our study will encompass a range of issues concerning the city and the consequences of urban development under modern and contemporary conditions. We will observe how the city has defined, and has been defined by, a particular reality at a particular time, beginning in Edo period and concluding in the present. Such approach emphasizes a need to examine the city within a certain context, particularly its social, cultural, and political circumstances. Thus, we will look at the creation and recreation of the city’s physical texture, at architecture, urban landscape, infrastructure, and technology, and at the same time observe the city as a social product determined by everyday life and habitual practices, organization of the immediate surrounding, personal rites and the micro-politics of life in the city. In the same manner, we will look at buildings and neighborhoods per-se, as a material construct guided by geometry and legal code, but at the same time recognize how the pragmatics of this built environment interrelate with cultural expressions such as literature and film, and thus examine the mechanisms that relate the city to culture. Also, we will see how the city is not merely a reflection or expression of politics, but rather an intricate political apparatus in and of itself, influencing relationships and encouraging change. FORMAT There are two consecutive class sessions every week. Usually, there will be a lecture at the first session while the second session will be used more for class discussions. Also, depending on schedule and the university’s guideline, we will aspire to conduct group or individual field trips. In taking the classroom outside the campus we will use the benefit of the Tokyo locality to be in and see the subjects of our study. These activities are equally important to the class lectures and should be used to further practice critical thinking and develop skills for analyzing the built city. The course has no prerequisites. Besides an interest in the course’s subjects, students are not required to have any prior knowledge of Tokyo, architecture, art and/or other discipline of urban studies. The course will be conducted F2F, on campus. However, in some circumstances we might need to conduct an online lecture, using Zoom as a platform for the meeting. For such cases, please see the details regarding the Zoom class and how to attend it on Moodle.

目標

COURSE OBJECTIVES As a whole, the course aims to discuss central themes emerging from the city of Tokyo. It aims to give students detailed knowledge about the modern and contemporary histories of the city, and an ability to position this knowledge in a range of discursive and theoretical frameworks. MAIN THEMES The course will address the following major themes: - Urban development in Japan. - Architecture and the cultural meaning of the built environment. - Transformations of Edo/Tokyo along half a millennium. - Consequences of urban development under contemporary politics. - Representations of the Japanese city. - Formation of urban experience by means of, for example, technology, consumption, and lifestyle. - Tokyo as a crossroads for Japanese interaction with the world.

授業外の学習

Preparation of class materials and reading assignments: 190 minutes.

所要時間: 190 minutes.