Circulation of Asian Popular Culture
Week 1
Introduction
Announcements
• No tutorials in Week 1.
• Students should read and prepare discussion:
Reading for Week 2 Tutorial:
Siriyuvasak, Ubonrat and Hyunjoon Shin. “Asianizing KPop: Production, Consumption and Identification Patterns among Thai Youth” Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 8.1 (2007):
109-36.
Discussion:
How does pop music, especially J-pop and K-pop, function as a form of “soft power”?
What are the principal barriers to a trans-Asian cultural exchange in pop music?
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Overview
• Topics/ Terms
• Requirements
Weekly schedule
Week
Week 1
Date
4-5 Aug
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Topic
Introduction: Glocalisation, “Soft Power,” and the popular discourse of otherness
11-12 Aug Music
18-19 Aug Manga/Anime
25-26Aug Film
1-2 Sept
Drama
8-9 Sept
Performing Arts
15-16 Sept Advertising
7 Oct(6 OctLabor Day holiday)
13-14 Oct Sport/Exercise
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week13
20-21Oct
27-28Oct
3-4 Nov
10-11Nov
Fashion
Food
Tourism
Conclusion
What is popular culture?
• Culture in opposition to ‘high culture’: Is pop culture to be identified with commercial culture, mass produced for mass consumption? In this sense, is it largely identifiable as American culture?
• Is it the ‘authentic’ culture of the people? Folk culture, or working class culture? Cf. the continuing popularity of the Mulan story in
China and Taiwan, or of fox stories in Japan and Korea.
What is popular culture?
• Is it a culture of resistance? Does it have political aims or effects, offering subordinate social groups a mode of resistance against dominant groups?
• In a postmodern world, is a distinction between high and popular culture still viable?
What is popular culture?
• Popular culture is constantly changing, and differs widely in place and time – hence