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2020/2021

East Asian Comparative Cultural Studies

Code: 101544 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500244 East Asian Studies OT 4 0
2504012 Spanish and Chinese Studies: Language, Literature and Culture OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Roberto Figliulo
Email:
Roberto.Figliulo@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
No
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Other comments on languages

The Unit 1 will be taught in English by prof. Artur Lozano.

Teachers

Artur Lozano Mendez

Prerequisites

This is one of the subjects corresponding to the East Asian Culture, Art and Literature specialisation, and it develops and builds on the content of the Advanced Issues in East Asian Art and Popular Culture subject. It is not compulsory to take both subjects, however, unless you want the specialisation to be included on your European Diploma Supplement (DS).

Objectives and Contextualisation

East Asian Comparative Cultural Studies emphasises the transnational and negotiated dimension of cultural processes and dynamics. Its approach is based on that of the University of Birmingham's Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, which focuses on the importance of actors in cultural practices and on political and conflict-related aspects of power where all cultural processes' social regulation is concerned.

Students will become familiar with cultural studies by different East Asian authors who examine cultural phenomena/aspects of the region's social realities. They will also learn about the origins and the diversity of the approaches and methodologies that, as a hybrid discipline, cultural studies encompasses.

The subject’s specific objectives include:

- Acquiring theoretical and methodological knowledge appropriate to the analysis of the construction and reproduction of cultural perceptions related to prescriptive social discourses.

- Drawing on interdisciplinary knowledge acquired over the course of the degree programme in order to base thinking on historically situated reasoning and studies enriched by human multiplicity, rather than on any single approach or an abstract, timeless analysis.

- Improving students’ ability to think critically, their analytical skills, their ability to debate, and their intercultural and communication skills for exchanging ideas and experiences.

Competences

    East Asian Studies
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Developing self-learning strategies.
  • Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
  • Knowing and comprehending the foundations of the cultural comparative studies.
  • Knowing and using the information and communication technology resources (ICT) in order to collect, produce, analyse and present information related to the East Asian Studies.
  • Knowing, comprehending, describing and analysing the values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia.
  • Recognising the connotations of the specific cultural references in the field of East Asia and assessing the influence in the interlinguistic and intercultural communication.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Respecting the gender equality.
  • Solving problems of intercultural communication.
  • Students must be flexible and capable of adapting to new circumstances.
  • Understanding the referential universe of written and verbal texts in the languages of East Asia.
  • Working in interdisciplinary and intercultural groups.
    Spanish and Chinese Studies: Language, Literature and Culture
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Demonstrate skills that facilitate teamworking.
  • Evaluate the influence of cultural references in Chinese studies in interlinguistic and intercultural communication.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Use techniques for compilation, organisation and use of information and documentation with precision.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Assessing the obtained results in the information search process in order to update the knowledge about history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
  2. Carrying out the documentary search in the specific languages of East Asia.
  3. Describe and analyse values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia.
  4. Develop critical thought and reasoning and know how to communicate them effectively in both your own and in a third language.
  5. Develop strategies for autonomous learning.
  6. Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  7. Developing self-learning strategies.
  8. Ensure quality standards for your own work.
  9. Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
  10. Evaluate the result obtained in the process of searching for documentation and information and to update knowledge of the history, literature, language, thought and art.
  11. Explain the explicit or implicit code of practice of one's own area of knowledge.
  12. Have cultural knowledge to be able to interpret.
  13. Have cultural knowledge to be able to translate.
  14. Identify the need to mobilise cultural knowledge to be able to translate.
  15. Know and understand the foundations of comparative cultural studies.
  16. Know, understand, describe and analyse the values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia.
  17. Knowing and comprehending the foundations of the cultural comparative studies.
  18. Knowing, comprehending, describing and analysing the values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia.
  19. Make document searches in the languages of East Asian countries.
  20. Possess interpersonal skills.
  21. Recognise the connotations of specific cultural references in the area of East Asia studies, and evaluate their influence on interlinguistic and intercultural communication.
  22. Recognise the need to mobilise cultural knowledge to be able to interpret.
  23. Recognising the connotations of the specific cultural references in the field of East Asia and assessing the influence in the interlinguistic and intercultural communication.
  24. Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  25. Respecting the gender equality.
  26. Solving problems of intercultural communication.
  27. Students must be flexible and capable of adapting to new circumstances.
  28. Understanding the referential universe of written and verbal texts in the languages of East Asia.
  29. Use different tools for specific purposes in the field of history.
  30. Using the specific terminology of history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
  31. Utilising different tools for specific purposes in the fields of history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
  32. Working in interdisciplinary and intercultural groups.

Content

Unit 1

- What is meant by culture. Culture registers. Distinction and consumption. Introduction to the study of culture.

- Basics and origins of cultural studies: the Birmingham School and Stuart Hall.

- Examples of applied comparative cultural studies. 

Unit 2

Many phenomena related to the major changes in East Asian societies over the last decades can be seen in contemporary cities. Urban planning is based on a hegemonic ideology that often overlooks individuals. We will see how the actors of cultural production have represented major urban changes and how individuals have reacted or adapted to them. We will look at how photography and cinema have contributed to the creation of the imagery of the contemporary city at the same time as calling the utopian vision of urban planners into question.

Methodology

East Asian Comparative Cultural Studies classes will be based on a critical reading/analysis of written and audiovisual texts chosen by lecturers and discussed with the students. Additional materials will be used to examine the topics raised by the main texts in greater depth. The lecturers will lead debate and discussion sessions and establish elements to be analysed. The realization of individual or group assignments encourages the students to deeper focusing on particular themes of the subject. In those cases, the students will realize oral presentations to share with their classmates their research progresses. Over the course of the semester the lecturer will hold individual and/or group tutorials to help students with their work.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Analysis of papers, theoretical documents and cultural products/phenomena. 10 0.4 1, 28, 17, 18, 7, 6, 2, 23, 26, 24, 25, 27, 32, 31, 30, 9
Type: Supervised      
Analysis of a product or a phenomenon of popular culture. 10 0.4 1, 28, 17, 18, 7, 6, 2, 23, 26, 24, 25, 27, 32, 31, 30, 9
Type: Autonomous      
Reading of papers, theoretical documents and cultural products/phenomena. 30 1.2 1, 28, 17, 18, 7, 6, 2, 23, 26, 24, 25, 27, 32, 31, 30, 9

Assessment

Assessment tasks

• Written assignment on the history and methodology of cultural studies (unit 1). (20%)

• Written assignment for the analysis of a popular culture product (Unit 1). (30%) 

• Written test on the content of Unit 2. (20%)

• During the Unit 2 sessions the student will write short analysis of cultural products/phenomena. (30%)

 

Related matters

The above information on assessment, assessment activities and their weighting is merely a guide. The subject's lecturer will provide full information when teaching begins.

Review

When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.

Missed/failed assessment activities

Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark beretaken or compensated for.

The lecturer will inform students of the procedure involved, in writing, when publishing final marks prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities.

Classification as "not assessable"

In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.

Misconduct in assessment activities

Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the students involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject.

Students may not retake assessment activities in which they are found to have engaged in misconduct. Plagiarism is considered to mean presenting all or part of an author's work, whether published in print or in digital format, as one's own, i.e. without citing it. Copying is considered to mean reproducing all or a substantial part of another student's work. In cases of copying in which it is impossible to determine which of two students has copied the work of the other, both will be penalised.

More information: http://www.uab.cat/web/study-abroad/undergraduate/academic-information/evaluation/what-is-it-about-1345670077352.html

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Written analysis of cultural products/phenomena. (Unit 2) 30% 48 1.92 10, 15, 16, 3, 5, 4, 11, 19, 14, 22, 21, 26, 25, 27, 12, 13, 20, 32, 29, 9, 8
Written assignment for the analysis of a popular culture product. (Unit1) 30% 48 1.92 10, 17, 15, 16, 3, 5, 4, 11, 19, 21, 26, 24, 25, 27, 32, 31, 9, 8
Written assignment on the history and methodology of cultural studies. (Unit 1) 20% 2 0.08 1, 28, 17, 18, 7, 6, 2, 23, 26, 24, 25, 27, 32, 31, 30, 9
Written exam on the contents of Unit 2. 20% 2 0.08 7, 6, 2, 23, 31, 30, 9

Bibliography

Unit 1

Agger, B. (1992). Cultural Studies as Critical Theory. Philadelphia: Falmer. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1234229~S1*cat>.

Azuma, H. (2009). Otaku: Japan's Database Animals. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1892513~S1*cat>.

Du Gay, P.; Stuart, H.; Janes, L.; Mackay, H.; Negus, K. (1997). Doing Cultural Studies: The Story of the Sony Walkman. London: Sage, in association with The Open University. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1428127~S1*cat>.

Eagleton, T. (2001). La idea de cultura: una mirada política sobre los conflictos culturales. Barcelona: Paidós. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1524089~S1*cat>.

Grenville, B. (2001). The Uncanny: Experiments in Cyborg Culture. Vancouver: Vancouver Art Gallery. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1726935~S1*cat>.

Gunster, S. (2004). Capitalizing on Culture: Critical Theory for Cultural Studies. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.

Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: The Open University. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1400308~S1*cat>.

Itō, M.; Okabe, D.; Tsuji, I. (2012). Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World. New Haven: Yale University Press. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1892547~S1*cat>.

Lewis, J. (2002). Cultural Studies: the Basics. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1542652~S1*cat>

Lozano-Méndez, A. (ed.) (2016). El Japón contemporáneo:una aproximación desde los estudios culturales. Barcelona: Edicions Bellaterra. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1975381_S1*cat>.

Mechademia. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1806582_S1*cat>.

Schneider, S. (ed.) (2016). Science Fiction and Philosophy: from Time Travel to Superintelligence. Hoboken: Wiley. <http://amzn.eu/fnVbsZ5>.

Storey, J. (1997, 2009). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. New York: Prentice Hall, Harvester Wheatsheaf. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1405435_S1*cat> / <http://amzn.eu/6z0JeVa>.

____ (ed.) (2009). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader. Harlow: Longman. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1847666_S1*cat>

Taylor, Paul, and Jan Li Harris (2008). Critical Theories of Mass Media: Then and Now. Berkshire, UK: Open Univ. Press. 

Unit 2

Abbas, Ackbar M., (1997). Hong Kong: culture and the politics of disappearance. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Braester, Yomi (2010). Painting the city red: Chinese cinema and the urban contract. Durham: Duke University Press.

Chang, Ivy I-chu. (2019). Taiwan Cinema, Memory, and Modernity. Singapore: Palgrave-Macmillan. [Libre en línea]

Cheung, Esther M. K., Marchetti, Gina & Yau, Esther C.M. (Eds.). (2015) A companion to Hong Kong cinema. Wiley Blackwell. [Llibre en línia]

Davis, Deborah S., (Ed.). (1995). Urban spaces in contemporary China: the potential for autonomy and community in post-Mao China. Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Center Press; Cambridge; New York : Cambridge University Press.

Massey, Doreen. (1994). From Space, Place and Gender. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Wong, Wendy Siuyi. (2018). The Disappearance of Hong Kong in Comics, Advertising and Graphic Design. Springer. [Llibre en línia]

Visser, Robin (2010). Cities surround the countryside: urban aesthetics in post-socialist China. Durham: Duke University Press

Wu, Hung (2005). Remaking Beijing: Tiananmen Square and the creation of a political space. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Zhang, Zhen (Ed.). (2007). The Urban generation: Chinese cinema and society at the turn of the Twenty-first Century. Durham: Duke University Press.