East Asian Comparative Cultural Studies
Code: 101544 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2500244 East Asian Studies | OT | 4 |
| 2504012 Spanish and Chinese Studies: Language, Literature and Culture | OT | 4 |
Contact
- Name:
- Arturo Lozano Mendez
- Email:
- artur.lozano@uab.cat
Teachers
- Roberto Figliulo
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
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.
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.
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
- 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.
- Describe and analyse values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia.
- Develop critical thought and reasoning and know how to communicate them effectively in both your own and in a third language.
- Develop strategies for autonomous learning.
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
- Developing self-learning strategies.
- Ensure quality standards for your own work.
- Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
- 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.
- Explain the explicit or implicit code of practice of one's own area of knowledge.
- Have cultural knowledge to be able to interpret.
- Have cultural knowledge to be able to translate.
- Identify the need to mobilise cultural knowledge to be able to translate.
- Know and understand the foundations of comparative cultural studies.
- Know, understand, describe and analyse the values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia.
- Knowing and comprehending the foundations of the cultural comparative studies.
- Knowing, comprehending, describing and analysing the values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia.
- Make document searches in the languages of East Asian countries.
- Possess interpersonal skills.
- Recognise the connotations of specific cultural references in the area of East Asia studies, and evaluate their influence on interlinguistic and intercultural communication.
- Recognise the need to mobilise cultural knowledge to be able to interpret.
- 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.
- Use different tools for specific purposes in the field of history.
- 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
Section 1. Introduction to cultural studies + Japan and South Korea
- 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: media mix (video games, animation, etc.), cosmetic surgery in South Korea.
China Section
In the section dedicated to China, a deep reflection will be developed around a specific theme based on examples of contemporary cultural products made in the country. From the perspective of cultural studies and visual culture, we will reflect on how some of the main issues of contemporary China have been metabolized.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Analysis of papers, theoretical documents and cultural products/phenomena. | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Analysis of a product or a phenomenon of popular culture. | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Reading of papers, theoretical documents and cultural products/phenomena. | 30 | 1.2 | 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32 |
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.
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.
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.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written analysis of cultural products/phenomena. (China section) | 30% | 48 | 1.92 | 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 29, 32 |
| Written assignment for the analysis of a popular culture product. (Japan and Korea section) | 30% | 48 | 1.92 | 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32 |
| Written exam on the contents of the section dedicated to China. | 20% | 2 | 0.08 | 2, 6, 7, 9, 23, 30, 31 |
| Written exam on the contents of the section dedicated to Japan and South Korea. | 20% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32 |
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.
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 in which irregularities have occurred (e.g. plagiarism, copying, impersonation) are excluded from recovery.
Assessment tasks
China section
20% Written test on the content of the section dedicated to China
30% During the sessions the student will write short analysis of cultural products/phenomena.
Japan and South Korea section
30% Writing Test: A test will be delivered to evaluate the student’s grasp of the section’s content. These tests will relate to the themes presented in the classroom.
20% Working Paper: Students must deliver an individual paper that will focus on a research subject that they’ll need to select beforehand.
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:
China section
20% Written assignment on the content of the section dedicated to China
30% Written exam on the content of the section dedicated to China
Japan and South Korea section
20% Working Paper: Students must deliver an individual paper that will focus on a research subject that they’ll need to select at the beginning.
30% Writing Test: A test will be delivered to evaluate the student’s grasp of the section’s content. These tests will relate to the themes presented in the classroom and will be available to them through the virtual platform.
Grade revision and resit procedures for the subject are the same as those for continual assessment. See the section above in this study guide.
Bibliography
Bibliography:
Cultural studies
Agger, B. (1992). Cultural Studies as Critical Theory. Philadelphia: Falmer.
Eagleton, T. (2001). La idea de cultura: una mirada política sobre los conflictos culturales. Barcelona: Paidós.
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.
Lewis, J. (2002). Cultural Studies: the Basics. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Storey, J. (1997, 2009). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. New York: Prentice Hall, Harvester Wheatsheaf.
____ (ed.) (2009). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader. Harlow: Longman.
Japan and South Korea
Allison, Anne (2006). Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination (1st ed.). University of California Press.
Azuma, H. (2009). Otaku: Japan's Database Animals. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Consalvo, M. (2016). Atari to Zelda: Japan's Videogames in Global Contexts. Cambridge i Londres: MIT Press.
Galbraith, Patrick W. (2019). Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan. Duke University Press.
Hutchinson, R. (2019). Japanese Culture through Videogames. Londres & Nova York: Routdlege.
Ito, M.; Okabe, D.; Tsuji, I. (2012). Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Jin, Dal Yong (2020). Transmedia Storytelling in East Asia: The Age of Digital Media. Routledge.
Kim, Hyun Kyung y Choe, Youngmin (2014). The Korean Popular Culture Reader. Duke University Press.
Lozano-Méndez, A. (ed.) (2016). El Japón contemporáneo: una aproximación desde los estudios culturales. Barcelona: Edicions Bellaterra.
Mechademia. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Steinberg, Marc (2019). The Platform Economy: How Japan Transformed the Consumer Internet. University of Minnesota Press.
____ (2012). Anime’s Media Mix: Franchising Toys and Characters in Japan. University of Minnesota Press.
Suan, Stevie (2021). Anime’s Identity: Performativity and Form beyond Japan. University of Minnesota Press.
Yoon, Tae-Jin y Jin, Dal Yong (2017) The Korean Wave: evolution, fandom and transnationality. Lexington Books.
China
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. [Book online]
Keane, Michael. (2013). Creative industries in China art, design and media. Cambridge, U.K.: Polity. [Book online]
Lu, Sheldon, & Mi, Jiayan (2009). Chinese Ecocinema: In the Age of Environmental Challenge. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. [Book online]
Ren, Hai, Bo, Zheng, & Wu, Mali (2022). Portfolio: Planetary Art in the Sinophonecene: An Introduction. In Verge: Studies in Global Asias, Volume 8, Issue 2, Fall, pp. 24-45.
Shapiro, Judith (2016). China's environmental challenges. Cambridge: Polity Press. [Book online]
Visser, Robin (2010). Cities surround the countryside: urban aesthetics in post-socialist China. Durham: Duke University Press
Zhang, Yingjin (2012). A Companion to Chinese Cinema. Malden, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell. [Book online]
Zhang, Zhen (Ed.). (2007). The Urban generation: Chinese cinema and society at the turn of the Twenty-first Century. Durham: Duke University Press.
Software
The course does not require any particular software. Students will only need the kind of apps necessary to conduct common academic tasks.
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | English | second semester | morning-mixed |