T325 Modern East Asian Pop Culture in the Global Setting

Diana Lin/Summer II 2022 (June 27-Aug.7 2022)

Office: Arts and Sciences Building 2051 IU Northwest
(O)219 980 6981
Email: dchenlin@iun.edu
Website: https://dchenlin.pages.iu.edu

Purpose of Course:

This course discusses the social and cultural implications of East Asian pop culture both in Asia and globally. The readings draw on examples from Korean pop music and Japanese manga and animé. The goal is to facilitate an understanding of the influence of culture and society on a country's pop culture, and the interactions of global and local pop cultures.

Required readings:

All required readings are available from the online Canvas syllabus.

Requirements:

I. Weekly assignments:

  • Weekly PlayPosit assignments
  • Weekly VoiceThread assignment
  • Weekly discussion essay (500 words)and two comments on others' essays

    II. Take-home paper draft (week 6),due on Wednesday Aug.3 at 10:59 pm cst), around 8-10 pages, double spaced, and take-home paper due by Sunday,Aug. 7, 2022.

    You should follow the criteria in the grading rubric for paper writing.

    All homework and correspondence with the instructor are to be conducted via Canvas. However, if you have questions about Canvas, you can email me at my regular email address at dchenlin@iun.edu until the problems are resolved. Correspondence through Canvas guarantees your homework will be securely transmitted and preserved. Consequently, I expect you to check your Canvas email also for any course announcements and correspondence from me and possibly other classmates.

    Method of grading: All grades are assigned in percentages, which will be tabulated at the end of the semester and converted to letter grades. The averages of your take-home papers and of your weekly writing assignments will be taken to represent the grades for your take-home paper and weekly writing assignment. The conversion is as follows: 93-100: A; 90-93: A-; 85-89.9: B+; 80-84.9: B; 75-79.9: B-; 70-74.9: C+; 65-69.9: C; 60-64.9: C-; 55-59.9: D+; 50-54.9: D; 45-49.9: D-; 44 and below: F.

    Grade distribution is as follows:

    PlayPosit: 15 per cent
    VoiceThread: 10 per cent
    Weekly Discussion Homework: 40 per cent
    Take-home paper draft: 10 per cent
    Take-home paper revision: 25 per cent

    Schedule:

    Week 1
    June 28-July 3

     

    Post-World War II Development of Japanese pop music.
    1. Online reading: "Idol Chatter: the development of J-pop." "
    PlayPosit and VoiceThread assignments on readings and videos.

    2.Online viewing: Gojira (1954) pt I, Gojira pt II, The Birth of Astro Boy (1963)
    Week 1 Discussion essay: Form a discussion topic on the origins of pop culture development in post-World War II Japan based on your work this week. (500 words)

    Week 2
    July 4-10

    The development of postwar sci-fi movies and anime in Japan.

    1. Online reading: " "From ashes to cyborgs: the era of reconstruction (1945-60)," "Pokemon: Getting monsters and communicating capitalism," and "Anime in the US: The entrepreneurial dimensions of globalized culture," and "How Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki reinvented common fairytale tropes."
    2. Online viewing: J-Pop band: Exile; K-Pop band: Big Bang;
    Week 2 discussion essay: Form a discussion topic on Japanese anime, video games etc.

    Week 3
    July 11-17

    The development of pop culture in South Korea

    1. Online reading: ""Hybridity and the rise of Korean pop culture in Asia."
    PlayPosit and VoiceThread assignments on readings and videos.
    Week 3 discussion essay: A discussion of K-Pop based on your assignments and your reflections on the reading.

    Week 4
    July 18-24

    State promotion of pop culture in South Korea and Japan.

    1. Online reading: ""Hallyu as a government construct," "Pop culture diplomacy in Japan," "Korean wave (hallyu)."
    PlayPosit and VoiceThread assignments on readings and videos.
    2. Online viewing: Movie: Detective Pikachu;  Movie: The Secret World of Arietty;  Movie: Spirited Away.
    Week 4 discussion essay: A discussion of state promotion of K-Pop and J-Pop based on your assignments and your reflections on the reading.

    Week 5
    July 25-31

    China's pop culture, state control and TikTok

    1.Online reading:Slow Boat from China; TikTok and China; How Tiktok is rewriting the world
    PlayPosit and VoiceThread assignments on readings and videos.
    2. Online viewing: Wanna One US tour;(2017)  Astro tour 2019;  Big Bang tour 2017.
    Week 5 discussion essay: A discussion of the Chinese state, technology and C-Pop based on your assignments and your reflections on the reading.

    Week 6
    Jun.17-Jun.22

    Take-home paper draft due by Wednesday Aug. 3, two comments due by Friday Aug. 5, and revised paper due by Sunday Aug. 7 at 10:59pm cst. The paper can be based on a rearrangement of your weekly discussion essays, needs to be double spaced and between 8-10 pages.