Manga Studies

Manga, i.e. Japan-based comics, have been attracting critical attention with respect to cultural policy and identity politics, character business, media convergence and the like, but the texts themselves, their media specificity and discursive positioning often go unnoticed. Online distance course.

Leaning on comics studies as informed by semiotics, narratology and media aesthetics and introducing Japanese criticism, this course approaches manga as serialized graphic narratives, which dwell between the Gutenberg Galaxy and the Information Age. It pursues what it means to read manga not only in relation to historical period, publication mode, gendered genre and actual location, but also material support, stylistic conventions, representational meaning and non-representational usages in order to equip the student with basic tools for argumentation in regard to the often contested aesthetic and cultural potential of Japanese comics.

The course contains 7.5 ECTS.


Teaching Format

The course is given in the form of lectures and seminars online.

Course details and resources

Course details, planning and literature for Fall semester 2025 can be found in the learning platform Athena.

Please note that only registered students have access to downloadable resources, like PDF documents, in Athena.

Assessment

The course is examined on the basis of a homeexam at the end of the course. For more detailed information see the course description in Athena.

Examiner

The schedule will be available no later than one month before the start of the course. We do not recommend print-outs as changes can occur. At the start of the course, your department will advise where you can find your schedule during the course.


Note that the course literature can be changed up to two months before the start of the course.

Course literature for Fall semester 2025 can be found in the learning platform Athena.

Please note that only registered students have access to downloadable resources, like PDF documents, in Athena.

Course reports are displayed for the three most recent course instances.








Do you have questions about the courses in Japan's Language and Culture?

Student Councelor:
exp.asien@su.se

Director of Studies:
Johan Fresk

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