Courses:

Course Info

• Course Number / Code:
• STS.S28 (Fall 2005) 
• Course Title:
• Godzilla and the Bullet Train: Technology and Culture in Modern Japan 
• Course Level:
• Undergraduate 
• Offered by :
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  Massachusetts, United States  
• Department:
• Science, Technology, and Society 
• Course Instructor(s):
• Dr. Takashi Nishiyama 
• Course Introduction:
•  
• 
  
  STS.S28 Godzilla and the Bullet Train: Technology and Culture in Modern Japan
  
  
  
  

  Fall 2005

  
  
  

  
  
  

  Course Highlights

  
  
  

  This course features complete reading assignments for all of the lecture topics.

  
  
  

  Course Description

  
  
  

  This course explores how and why Japan, a late-comer to modernization, emerged as an industrial power and the world's second-richest nation, notwithstanding its recent difficulties. We are particularly concerned with the historical development of technology in Japan especially after 1945, giving particular attention to the interplays between business, ideology, technology, and culture. We will discuss key historical phenomena that symbolize modern Japan as a technological power in the world; specific examples to be discussed in class include kamikaze aircraft, the Shinkansen high-speed bullet train, Godzilla, and anime.