Teacher: MINAMIDANI Yoshimi
Course Code: JK47001
Through the reading of Joanna Bourke’s The Story of pain: from Prayer to Painkillers (2014) and stories about painful experiences,
this course explores a wide range of issues related to physical and psychological
pain, which will allow students to consider how the definition, concept, and the pain culture differ internationally alongside political, cultural, and economic developments.
Course Information
Module: Research and Advanced Studies
CATS Requirements: BA 3rd. year or above
Link to course material on PandA.
Day/Period: Tue/5
Location: Lec. 4
Credits: 2
Course Goals
How has the experience/event of pain been historically imposed on/endured by humans and animals, and how has it been understood, expressed, and described? What types of pain exist, and what meanings and roles do they have in the lives of humans and animals?
A wide variety of issues concerning pain will be considered through English-language novels, paintings, cinema, newspaper/magazine articles, essays, reviews, and music, which will allow students to consider and describe the “living pain” actually experienced by humans and animals, and gain a deeper understanding of the complexity and unfathomable nature, and (in)communicability of pain.
Course Schedule and Evaluation
For a detailed course schedule, please visit KULASIS.
At the end of the term students will be asked to write a term paper. Students’grades will be weighed according to the following scheme:
Active participation in discussion＋Reaction Paper 60％
Term paper 40%