Managing some heavy material with preparation and a special guest

You've probably noticed that the reading load gets very light until we read Hoshino Tomoyuki's Lonely Hearts Killer, which I will email you all this week. Aside from the readings I post on the blog, you won't have any additional readings for a few weeks. The reason for the lighter load relates to the difficulty of the material we'll be dealing with in class. The film we will watch this Wednesday is definitely one of the toughest things I teach. I know folks usually don't like "spoilers" for movies, but I think it's very important that you are all emotionally prepared for what you'll see (and hear) on Wednesday.

Please make sure to read both of the following links before class.

Matsui Minoru Interview

"Stubborn Legacies of War: Japanese Devils in Sarajevo" by Linda Hoaglund


You'll also get a special "reward" after the film.

We are incredibly fortunate to have the International Writing Program here at the UI. We started the semester with a tour of the library exhibit (led by Chiaki Sakai), and that exhibit is soon coming to a close as this year's IWP writers prepare to return to their homes in various countries. Among the writers who came to Iowa City this fall is KIM Reon. You can read examples of her writing by clicking here and scrolling down to her bio, where you'll be able to access the files to download. The following is an excerpt from "Father's Winter."

Eunhee remembered how at the demonstration that day everything was slow and drawn-out, like a long take in a movie. Of course, it might have only felt that way because she couldn’t make a sound except for the rustle of her dry mouth. Perhaps because there weren’t any so-called security leaks, her classmates were able to circle the street an unprecedented number of times even with the Yeongdeungpo police right under their noses. Even so, there were over twenty of them.

When the tear gas began to explode below, Eunhee and her friend stayed on the roof, chanting. They had to stay there until they were brutally dragged away. Only after the scene in the street was broken up and several men who were theater employees rather than police officers came running and pleaded with them to stop, did they stomp back down the steep stairway, huffing and puffing. Or, they might have been pushed down at the hands of those men. At any rate, the men disappeared briefly to call the police, and Eunhee and her friend agreed to slip in amongst the theater patrons rather than stand and fight alone.

Ms. Kim is leaving Iowa City on the 10th, but has agreed to stop by our class and share some thoughts that will add quite a lot to our course. I think it will also be good for us all to leave the classroom with her words in our minds instead of the with the feelings we'll have while watching the film. She will join us around 5:30 or so on Wednesday.