Advanced Issues in East Asian Art and Popular Culture
Code: 101535 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500244 East Asian Studies | OT | 4 | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Arturo Lozano Mendez
- Email:
- artur.lozano@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject. Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2023.
Teachers
- Roberto Figliulo
- Tomás Grau De Pablos
Prerequisites
As it is one of the subjects of the specialisation in Culture, Art and Literature of East Asia, this course is complemented by East Asian Comparative Cultural Studies. Nevertheless, it is not compulsory to take both courses if the student does not want to obtain that specialisation. Students who wish to do their bachelor’s degree final project about issues related to popular culture and contemporary art are advised to take this course.
Objectives and Contextualisation
- Acquire theoretical and methodological knowledge relevant to the analysis of the works, products and phenomena related to popular culture and art.
- Apply those theoretical tools to the study of a particular issue, under the lecturers’ supervision.
- Participate in collective analyses of documents (films, literary works, etc.) in class.
- Improve critical thinking, individual analytical ability, and intercultural and communication skills for debating and exchanging ideas and experiences.
- Develop a critical attitude, rigour and high standards in relation to one's own work.
Competences
- Applying knowledge of the art and popular culture to the analysis and comprehension of written texts in the languages of East Asia.
- 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 art and popular culture of the countries of East Asia.
- 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 the great literary, philosophical, and artistic movements of East Asia.
- Knowing, comprehending, describing and analysing the values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia.
- Producing innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
- Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
- Solving problems of intercultural communication.
- Students must be flexible and capable of adapting to new circumstances.
- Working in interdisciplinary and intercultural groups.
Learning Outcomes
- Applying knowledge of the art and popular culture to the analysis and comprehension of written texts in the languages of East Asia.
- Assessing the obtained results in the information search process in order to update the knowledge about history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
- Carrying out the documentary search in the specific languages of East Asia.
- 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 art and popular culture of the countries of East Asia.
- Knowing the great literary, philosophical, and artistic movements of East Asia.
- Knowing, comprehending, describing and analysing the values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia.
- Producing innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
- Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
- Solving problems of intercultural communication.
- Students must be flexible and capable of adapting to new circumstances.
- Using the specific terminology of history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
- Utilising different tools for specific purposes in the fields of history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
- Working in interdisciplinary and intercultural groups.
Content
Module 1
Introduction to critical theory and cultural studies: In the first sessions, cultural studies and critical theory’s key concepts, schools and thinkers, along with their impact in studies of contemporary Japanese popular culture, will be introduced in order to provide the students with tools for beginning to critically study works, actors and phenomena.
Schools:
- Formalism
- Narratology
- Structuralism
- Post-structuralism
- Psychoanalysis
Case studies: the case studies will showcase the transversal application of the theoretical frameworks to the study of different contents, genres and themes in manga, anime and other productions of Japanese contemporary culture (gender perspectives, youth culture, ecology, family models, traditions and new trends in narrative and consumption practices).
Module 2
In the section dedicated to China, the analysis of artistic and cultural products will be carried out from the methodological perspective of visual culture studies. The focus of the analysis will be the artistic and cultural production of China in the 20th century and early 21st century. Through a historical journey, the main currents, movements, and phenomena that have characterized the contemporary cultural production of the country will be presented.
Methodology
(Please note that the course lessons will be imparted in English during weeks 1 to 6 by Prof. Artur Lozano.)
Critical and cultural analysis methodology will be acquired by studying, reading and discussing different prominent figures' contributions to cultural studies, as well as by applying that methodology to fragments of primary documents (films, episodes of series or printed excerpts) that will be discussed in the classroom.
In short, this course requires a high reading commitment in order to acquire relevant theoretical tools and add them in a productive way to intellectual and dialogical abilities. Presentations and written work must be academically structured and argued; they should not be just summaries of arguments or recycled comments from social media platforms.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures and analysis of papers | 50 | 2 | 1, 8, 7, 9, 4, 10, 12, 11, 13, 15, 14, 6 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Document based comments and discussions | 20 | 0.8 | 1, 7, 4, 12, 13, 16, 14, 6 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Personal reading | 46 | 1.84 | 1, 2, 8, 7, 9, 5, 4, 3, 10, 11, 15, 14, 6 |
Assessment
Continuous assessment
Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing various tasks and tests. These activities are detailed in the table at the end of this section of the Study Guide.
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.
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. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for. In case of retaking, maximum grade will be 5 (Pass).
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 student involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject. Assessment activities inwhich irregularities have occurred (e.g. plagiarism, copying, impersonation) are excluded from recovery.
Single assessment
This subject may be assessed under the single assessment system in accordance with the terms established in the academic regulations of the UAB and the assessment criteria of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting.
Students must make an online request within the period established by the faculty and send a copy to the teacher responsible for the subject, for the record.
Single assessment will be carried out in person on one day during week 16 or 17 of the semester. The Academic Management Office will publish the exact date and time on the faculty website.
On the day of the single assessment, teaching staff will ask the student for identification, which should be presented as a valid identification document with a recent photograph (student card, DNI/NIE or passport).
Single assessment activities
The final grade for the subject will be calculated according to the following percentages:
- Quiz about contents of the module dedicated to Critical Theory and Japan (Module 1) – 30% of the subject's final mark.
- Quiz about contents of the module dedicated to China (Module 2) – 30% of the subject's final mark.
- Individual written assignment (3,000 words) – 40% of the subject's final mark.
Grade revision and resit procedures for the subject are the same as those for continual assessment. See the section above in this study guide.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As the sessions of Module 2 progress, the student will deliver short analysis of articles and cultural products selected by the lecturer. | 30% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 8, 7, 9, 5, 4, 15, 14, 6 |
| Group assignment: blog post consisting of an analysis of a work of art or of popular culture (2,000 words) | 40% | 30 | 1.2 | 1, 2, 8, 7, 9, 5, 4, 3, 10, 12, 11, 13, 16, 15, 14, 6 |
| Quiz about contents of the module dedicated to Critical Theory and Japan (Module 1) | 30% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2, 8, 7, 9, 5, 4, 3, 10, 12, 11, 13, 16, 15, 14, 6 |
Bibliography
Module 1
Storey, John (1997, 2009) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. New York : Prentice Hall/Harvester Wheatsheaf. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1405435~S1*cat>.
Storey, John(2009) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture:A Reader. Harlow: Longman. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1847666~S1*cat>.
Barry, P. (1995). Beginning theory: an introduction to literary and cultural theory. Manchester: Manchester University Press. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1680655~S1*cat>; 4ª ed. (2017): <https://www.amazon.es/Beginning-Theory-Beginnings-Peter-Barry/dp/1526121794/>
Martinez, Dolores P. (ed) (2007) Modern Japanese Culture and Society. 4 vols. London; New York: Routledge. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1823242~S1*cat>.
Kinsella, S. (2014). Schoolgirls, money and rebellion in Japan. New York: Routledge. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1910486~S1*cat>.
Mes, Tom; Sharp, Jasper (2005) Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film, The. Berkeley, Calif.: Stone Bridge Press <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1675354~S1*cat>.
Sugimoto, Y. (2009). The Cambridge companion to modern Japanese culture. New York: Cambridge University Press. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1866341~S1*cat>.
Favell, Adrian (2012) Before and after Murakami. A Short History of Japanese Contemporary Art 1990-2011. Ed. Timezone 8.
Yamaguchi, Yumi (2007) Warriors of Art. A Guide to Contemporary Japanese Artists. <http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/4770030312>.
Natsume, Fusanosuke; Saito, Nobuhiko (curators, eds) (2009): サンデー・マガジンンのDNA ～週刊少年漫画誌の50年～ (DNAof Sunday and Magazine. The 50 Yearsof Weekly Shonen Manga Magazines.) Kyoto Manga Museum <http://www.kyotomm.jp/english/event/spe/sundaymagazinedna.php>.
Toku Masami (curator, ed); Masuda Nozomi (contributor); Yamada Tomoko (contributor) (2008) 少女マンガパワー ―つよく・やさしく・うつくしく― Shojo Manga! Girl Power!. Kyoto Manga Museum <http://www.kyotomm.jp/HP/2008/05/shojo_manga_power.php>.
McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding comics. Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1276961~S1*cat>.
Denison, Rayna (2015) Anime: A Critical Introduction. London: Bloomsbury. <http://amzn.eu/36LTAUj>.
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>.
Positions - East Asia cultures critique. (2000-…). Durham, NC: Duke University Press. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1658166~S1*cat>.
Mechademia (2006-…). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. <http://cataleg.uab.cat/record=b1806582~S1*cat>.
Module 2
Davis, Edward L., (Ed.). (2005). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture. London; New York: Routledge.
Henriot, Christian, & Yeh, Wen-hsin (Eds.). Visualising China, 1845-1965: Moving and Still Images in Historical Narratives, (407-434). Leiden: Brill.
Hou, Hanru (2002). On the mid-ground. H.-H., Yu (Ed.). Hong Kong: Timezone 8.
Johnston Laing, Ellen (2004). Selling Happiness: Calendar Posters and Visual Culture in Early Twentieth-century Shanghai.Honolulu:University of Hawaii Press.
King, Richard, (Ed.). (2010). Art in turmoil: the Chinese Cultural Revolution, 1966-76. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Manonelles, Laia (2011). Arte experimental en China: conversaciones con artistas. Barcelona: Bellaterra.
Nelson, Robert S. & Stiff, Richard (Eds.). (2003). Critical Terms of Art History – Second Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Sullivan, Michael (1996). Art and artists of twentieth-century China. Berkeley : University of California Press.
Wu, Hung, (2005). Transience: Chinese experimental art at the end of the twentieth century. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art.
Wu, Hung, (Ed.). (2010). Contemporary Chinese Art: Primary Documents. New York: MoMa.
Software
The course does not require any particular software. Students will only need the kind of apps necessary to conduct common academic tasks.