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Using the Sociology of Literature as a Method to Understand Japanese Culture: The Case Study of Botchan by Natsume Sōseki

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Ali Volkan Erdemir
Ali Volkan Erdemir*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Letters, Erciyes University, Turkey
*
Ali Volkan Erdemir, Department of Japanese Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters, Erciyes University, Talas, Kayseri 38020, Turkey. Email: averdemir@erciyes.edu.tr
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Abstract

This paper does not attempt to breathe a new life into the sociology of literature. The real concern here is limited to making a possible contribution to the work conducted in Japanese language and literature departments by using the sociology of literature as a method. The discussion begins with a summary of the sociology of literature, merely to make clear the basic characteristics of the method developed by well-known intellectuals. Then the novel Botchan is taken as an example for the suggested approach.

Keywords

Sociology of literatureJapanese literatureNatsume SōsekiBotchanJapanese culture

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