LAS233 Mass Culture in East Asia

Overview

This module takes a transcultural and transdisciplinary approach to the study of mass culture in East Asia, tracing the adoption, adaptation, and innovation of a variety of media over the long twentieth century. We will examine how various types of mass culture emerged and developed in different ways across East Asia and how new types of media shaped those cultures. We will work chronologically towards the present day, considering how the media and the masses have changed over time. Each week introduces a case study drawn from the expertise of researchers at SEAS.

Topics Covered

• Mass Cultures in East Asia? 

• The Medium is the Message: Types of Mass Culture Texts in East Asia 

• ‘Sasaeng Fans’: Culture Industry, Mass Deception, and Fandom 

• Music as Mass Culture 

• Radio and Sound Cultures 

• Mass Culture and Imagined Publics + Communities

• Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting’: Martial Arts Cinema, (Trans)nationalism, and (Post)modernity 

• The Spectacle of the Body: Representing Gender and Violence in Hong Kong Action Cinema 

• Adaptation, Imitation or Reinvention? The Rise of Hallyu 

• Mass culture as Counter-culture 

• Counter-Publics and Subcultures

Skills developed

• Critical thinking

• Knowledge 

• cultural agility 

• Academic writing and communication skills

• Practical Skills 

• Independent Learning 

Study Hours

The University recommends that you spend 200 hours working on a 20-credit module. This will include:

• 22 hrs Lectures

• 22 hrs Seminars

• 156 hrs independent study

Assessment

• Long Research Essay (70%)

• Short Written Assignment (30%)

If you want to get ahead....

• Huat, C.B., 2004. Conceptualising an East Asian popular culture. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 5(2), pp.200-221.