TTLA: Human Condition in the Works of Abe Kobo and Oe Kenzaburo: A Comparison

1. Full name of researcher: Tran Thi Thuc 2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: June 17, 1983 4. Place of birth: Nam Dinh

5. Decision on recognition of PhD students No. 2999/2013/QD-XHNV-SDH dated December 30, 2013 issued by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

6. Changes in the training process: Extend the study period to December 31, 2017 according to Decisions No. 4619/QD-XHNV, No. 1656/QD-XHNV, No. 2488/QD-XHNV issued by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities on December 29, 2016, July 5, 2017, and October 4, 2017.

7. Thesis topic name:The Human Condition in the Works of Abe Kobo and Oe Kenzaburo: A Comparison

8. Major: Foreign Literature 9. Code: 62 22 02 45

10. Scientific advisor: Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duc Ninh

11. Summary of new results of the thesis:

• The thesis has surveyed a large number of research documents from Japan, the world and Vietnam on the topic of human fate in the works of two writers Abe Kobo and Oe Kenzaburo. The system of documents used for the summary work is the latest update up to the present time.

- The thesis has stated and thoroughly analyzed the theoretical and practical basis of the topic as a basis for conducting research on the main issues of the thesis such as human status, existential philosophy, the context of post-war Japan, approaching from a comparative perspective.

• The thesis has analyzed and clarified the basic similarities and differences on the issue of human status in the typical works of the two authors and explained the underlying causes of those similarities and differences. At the same time, the thesis also pointed out the inheritance and innovation of each writer when expressing the issue of human status in two typical aspects: loneliness, alienation and the search for identity. From there, the thesis has affirmed the role of the two writers in the Japanese existential literature, and pointed out their contributions to world existential literature.
• The thesis successfully analyzed the writing style of the two writers in describing human fate on the structural levels of the work such as space and time and emphasized some distinct artistic styles, creating the unique and different styles of the two writers.

12. Practical application (if any):

• The practical value of the topic is that it can be directly applied to the author's teaching and research at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. The thesis has made a practical and meaningful contribution to the research and teaching of Japanese literature, which is increasingly being focused on at universities in Vietnam.

- The research results of the topic can become reference material for students majoring in Literature and other social sciences and humanities.

13. Further research directions:

Based on the study of the issue of human status in the works of two writers Abe Kobo and Oe Kenzaburo from a comparative perspective, it is possible to continue to carry out comparative studies of the works of the two writers with other authors of modern Japanese literature, and more broadly, the issue of human status from the perspective of existentialism in world literature.

14. Published works related to the thesis:

[1] Tran Thi Thuc (2013), “Existentialist movement in modern Japanese and Vietnamese literature from a comparative perspective”,Proceedings of the International Conference on Vietnamese and Japanese Literature in the East Asian Context, Culture - Literature Publishing House, Ho Chi Minh City, pp. 683~695.

[2] Tran Thi Thuc (2014), “The type of character that escapes from reality and chooses freedom in Abe Kobo's novels”,Proceedings of the Scientific Conference of Young Cadres and Students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2013-2014 school year, Hanoi National University Publishing House, pp. 537~556.

[3] Tran Thi Thuc (2016), “Characters in Abe Kobo's fantasy short stories”,Proceedings of the National Scientific Conference on 30 years of innovation in research on Literature and Han Nom, Hanoi National University Publishing House, pp. 739~750.

[4] Tran Thi Thuc (2016),“Human Identity in the Novels of Abe Kobo and Oe Kenzaburo from a Comparative Perspective”, basic level topic, code CS.2015.18.

[5] Tran Thi Thuc (2017), “The influence of existential philosophy in the work Aprivate painby Oe Kenzaburo”,Culture and Arts Magazine(6), pp. 77~81.

[6] Tran Thi Thuc (2017), “Space – a symbol of exile in some novels by Abe Kobo”,Journal of Art Theory and Criticism(9), pp. 81~89.

[7] Tran Thi Thuc (2017), “Human alienation – a form of existentialism inOther people's facesby Abe Kobo andA private painby Oe Kenzaburo”,Literature, art and cultural institutions – Interdisciplinary approaches, World Publishing House, pp. 294~318.

[8] Tran Thi Thuc (2018),“Modern Japanese Literature in the Context of Identity Crisis (A Study of Abe Kobo's Woman in the Dunes and Oe Kenzaburo's A Private Sorrow)”, basic level topic, code CS.2017.08.

INFORMATION ON DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name: Tran Thi Thuc 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: June 17^th, 1983 4. Place of birth: Nam Dinh

5. Admission decision number: 2999/2013/QD-XHNV-SDH Dated: December 30, 2013 by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

6. Changes in academic process: Extension of the study period to December 31, 2017 according to decision No 4619/QD-XHNV, No 1656/QD-XHNV, No 2488/QD-XHNV Date December 29, 2016, Date July 5, 2017, Date October 4, 2017 by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

7. Official thesis title:Human conditions in Kobo Abe and Kenzaburo Oe's works: a comparative study

8. Major: Foreign Literature 9. Code: 62 22 02 45

10. Supervisors: Prof. PhD. Nguyen Duc Ninh

11. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

- The thesis makes a survey of large number of study documents from Japan, in the world and also in Vietnam on the subject of human conditions in the writings of two writers Abe Kobo and Oe Kenzaburo. The documentation system used for narrating is updated until now.

- The thesis has mentioned and thoroughly analyzed the theoretical and practical basis of the thesis as a basis for conducting research on the main issues of the thesis such as human condition, existential philosophy, context of post-war Japan, approaching from a comparative perspective.

- The thesis has analyzed and clarified the basic similarities and differences on the subject of human condition in the typical works of the two authors and explained deep reasons for those similarities and differences. At the same time, the thesis has clarified the inheritances and innovations of each author in expressing the human condition on two typical aspects: loneliness, alienation and the search for identity. From that point, the thesis has affirmed the role of two writers in existentialism of Japanese literature, and their contribution to existentialist literature in the world.

- The thesis succeeds in analyzing the composition of two writers describing the human condition on aspects of their work's structure such as space and time and emphasizes unique style of writing which creates unique, different style of the two writers.

12. Practical applicability, if any:

- Practical values ​​of the thesis is that we can directly applied for teaching and research of the author at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. The thesis has made a meaningful contribution to the study and teaching of Japanese literature, which is being increasingly emphasized in universities in Vietnam.

- The research results of the thesis can be used as reference materials for students with majors of Literature and other humanities and social sciences.

13. Further research directions, if any:

Based on the study of the human condition in the writings of two writers Abe Kobo and Oe Kenzaburo from a comparative perspective, we can continue to research on comparing the works of two writers with other authors of modern Japanese literature, and also, the human condition from the perspective of existentialism in the world literature.

14. Thesis-related publications:

[1] Tran Thi Thuc (2013), “Movement of existentialism in modern Japansese and Vietnamese literature from a theoretical perspective”,Proceedings of the International Conference on Vietnamese and Japanese Literature Viewed from an East Asian Perspective, Culture – Literature Publishing House, Ho Chi Minh City, pp. 683-695.

[2] Tran Thi Thuc (2014), “Type of character escaping from reality and choosing freedom in Kobo Abe's novels”,Proceedings of the Young Scientists and Graduate Students Conference School Year 2013-2014, Hanoi National University Publishing House, pp. 537-556.

[3] Tran Thi Thuc (2016), “Character in miraculous short stories by Kobo Abe”,Proceedings of the National Scientific Conference of 30 years of renovation on Literature, Art and Sino-Nom: Achievements- Problems – Prospects, Hanoi National University Publishing House, pp. 739-750.

[4] Tran Thi Thuc (2016),“Human condition in Kobo Abe and Kenzaburo Oe's novels from a comparative viewpoint”, University research work, CS code. 2015.18.

[5] Tran Thi Thuc (2017), “Influences of existential philosophy onA Personal Matterby Kenzaburo Oe”,Culture and Arts Magazine(6), pp. 77-81.

[6] Tran Thi Thuc (2017), “Space – the symbol of exile in Kobo Abe's novels”,Theory and Criticism of Literature and Arts Magazine(9), pp. 81-89.

[7] Tran Thi Thuc (2017), “Alienate human – a type of existence in Kobo Abe'sFace of Anotherand Kenzaburo Oe'sA Personal Matter”,Art Literature and Cultural Institution – Interdisciplinary Approaches, World Publishing House, pp. 294-318.

[8] Tran Thi Thuc (2018), “Modern Japanese Literature in context of crisis in identity (Case study: Kobo Abe's The Women in the Dunes and Kenzaburo Oe's A Personal Matter”, University research work, code CS. 2017.08.