An exploration of contemporary Asia through the analysis of popular culture, with a focus on the media’s role in constructing transnational Asian modernities.
Both from the economic and the cultural points of view, Asia has become a vital part
of New Zealand life. Why do we consider this to be the "Asian century"? How does
popular culture crucially contribute to Asia's changing and growing role in the world?
What is "popular culture" and what is its relation to "soft power"? How do Asian celebrities,
popular film genres, and music phenomena contribute to cultural, economic, and political
changes in Asia and beyond?
Through an analysis of different media and different
regions, this paper will help students gain a better understanding of Asia and its
relevance in the global context.
| Paper title | Asian Popular Cultures |
|---|---|
| Paper code | ASIA201 |
| Subject | Asian Studies |
| EFTS | 0.15 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Semester 2 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $929.55 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- 36 points
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Eligibility
- Suitable for students specialising in any discipline.
- Contact
- languages@otago.ac.nz
- Teaching staff
- Convenor: paola.voci@otago.ac.nz
- Paper Structure
- The course analyses the role and the significance of popular culture in Asia. The first part of the class is structured on country-focused units on China, India and Japan; the second part explores Asian popular cultures' transnational and global issues via an analysis of popular film genre (martial arts, action/thriller, horror), remakes (e.g. Infernal Affairs/The Departed, Ringu/The Ring), celebrities (e.g. Jackie Chan, Salman Khan, Hayao Miyazaki), and media convergences (TV and internet popular culture).
- Textbooks
- All required readings are available for you as electronic reserve at the University of Otago Library as well as on Blackboard.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Interdisciplinary perspective, Lifelong learning, Critical thinking,
Cultural understanding, Research.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
- By participating in lectures, tutorials, and screenings, students will gain:
- An appreciation of various forms of popular cultures (e.g. cinema, music, TV) in the Asian region and their national/transnational features
- A critical understanding of mainstream as well as marginal and countercultures practices
- An awareness of the complex issues involved in cultural translations and how an interdisciplinary approach can enhance the study of the region within and beyond the East-West problematic opposition
- A capacity for critical analysis of scholarship on issues related to Asian popular cultures and Asian studies more broadly
- An ability to independently investigate a specific particular cultural form in the Asian region, understand its meaning in context and explain its role and importance within and beyond the Asian geopolitical and cultural boundaries
