You may have heard of "border-crossing literature," but where exactly are the borders drawn? This genre of text has become an important trend in contemporary Japanese and Chinese literature, and is poised to remain relevant in the interconnected world of today. But when we conceive of texts and borders, the boundaries of what we consider "literature" are also shifting. In this course, we will use video games to complicate our notions of how borders play a role in our experience of different media, engaging critically the various borders (linguistic, national, genre, platform) we encounter in different texts. We will practice critical reading of video games as a form of analysis, where the experience of playing games contributes to our discussion of borders and comparisons of different media cultures. Both China and Japan occupy central positions in discourse surrounding technology and media, but rarely do the conversations align in tone or subject matter. Examining texts from China and Japan, we investigate and challenge divisions between the two countries in contemporary literature and video games. At the same time, by looking across mediums from literature to game, we will develop a better understanding of our own positionality relative to the cultural content we consume and the culturally-influenced mechanisms that deliver them.
3-4 units · Letter or Credit/No Credit · GER: WAY-A-II
You may have heard of "border-crossing literature," but where exactly are the borders drawn? This genre of text has become an important trend in contemporary Japanese and Chinese literature, and is poised to remain relevant in the interconnected world of today. But when we conceive of texts and borders, the boundaries of what we consider "literature" are also shifting. In this course, we will use video games to complicate our notions of how borders play a role in our experience of different media, engaging critically the various borders (linguistic, national, genre, platform) we encounter in different texts. We will practice critical reading of video games as a form of analysis, where the experience of playing games contributes to our discussion of borders and comparisons of different media cultures. Both China and Japan occupy central positions in discourse surrounding technology and media, but rarely do the conversations align in tone or subject matter. Examining texts from China and Japan, we investigate and challenge divisions between the two countries in contemporary literature and video games. At the same time, by looking across mediums from literature to game, we will develop a better understanding of our own positionality relative to the cultural content we consume and the culturally-influenced mechanisms that deliver them.
Offered in Spring 2026 at Stanford University.