Form AS 140
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Subject Description Form
Please read the notes at the end of the table carefully before completing the form.
Subject Code
Subject Title
Credit Value
Level
Pre-requisite /
Co-requisite/
Exclusion
Objectives
Intended Learning
Outcomes
(Note 1)
Subject Synopsis/
Indicative Syllabus
(Note 2)
(Form AS 140) 7.2013
FH1C02
An Introduction to Asian Popular Culture 亞洲流行文化導論
3
1
Nil.
The subject aims to provide a perspective in understanding Asian popular
culture in the flow of globalization by introducing cultural theories that
analyze popular culture and the media as well as western-developed
concepts in defining and analyzing them. Key regional trends in
televisions, films, media systems and pan-Asian development of popular
culture, with particular focus on the analysis of film, TV dramas, comics
and popular music, will be introduced. Areas to be focused on are South
Korea, China Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia and India.
Upon completion of the subject, students will be able to:
a. have a basic understanding of issues and themes in contemporary East,
Southeast and South Asian popular culture with reference to intercultural dialogue, transnational flows as well as globalization;
b. have a decent knowledge of the socio-cultural context of
contemporary Asian critical inquiry;
c. have a basic idea in cultural studies concepts and methodologies;
d. develop critical analytical skills in understanding popular culture;
e. have library and web-based research skills relevant to Asian studies,
cultural studies and media studies;
f. meet the English reading and writing requirement.
1. Introduction
2. = Understanding popular culture
3. Cosmopolitanism and Chineseness in Hong Kong Popular Culture
4. Taiwanese popular culture in Chinese speaking regions
5. Nationalism in Chinese films
6. Consumerism in Chinese real live TV shows
7. J-pop and K-pop
8. Transnational flows of popular culture in East Asia I: the case of
hanryu and Korea TV drama
9. Transnational flows of popular culture in East Asia II: the case of
Japanese TV drama
10. What is Subculture?
11. Popular Culture in Indonesia
12. The Bollywood Identity and Bollywood’s Response to Americanism
13. Asian Century
1
Teaching/Learning
Methodology
(Note 3)
Assessment
Methods in
Alignment with
Intended Learning
Outcomes
(Note 4)
Pre-class readings will be supplemented by the use of pictorials, audio and
video materials in the lectures. Students are also required to watch media
items for tutorial discussion. At the beginning of the semester students will
be assigned a topic of Asian cultural item or phenomenon to study with
and later deliver oral presentations in the tutorials. Students will submit a
written report based on their oral presentations, which will be developed
into a term paper with research elements.
Specific assessment
methods/tasks
%
weighting
1. Final quiz
2. Class Discussion
3. Group Oral
Presentation
4. Draft 1 and 2 for
the Final Essay
5. Final Essay
(2,500 words
minimum*)
Total
20%
10%
20%
Intended subject learning
outcomes to be assessed (Please
tick as appropriate)
a
b
c
d
e
f
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
10%
√
√
√
√
√
√
40%
√
√
√
√
√
√
100 %
*The length of the final essay is 2,500 words minimum for the International Summer
School RW version.
Student Study
Effort Expected
Explanation of the appropriateness of the assessment methods in
assessing the intended learning outcomes:
1. The final quiz, including multiple choice questions and simple answer
questions, will help gauge students’ mastering of the key concepts of
analyzing popular culture and major issues covered in the lectures and
required readings.
2. The class discussion helps students to develop communicative skills as
well as to gauge the concepts and analytical tools in studying specific
popular culture.
3. The group oral presentation can inform the teacher the progress
students have made in their general grasp of the subject and their skill
in writing and oral communication.
4. The draft 1 and draft 2 of the term paper, which will be marked by
ELC, help students to develop their research skills and understanding
of the essay, whereas fulfilling their English reading and writing
requirement of the course.
5. The final essay can help assess the students’ overall in-depth
understanding of the subject.
Class contact:

Lectures
26 Hrs.

Tutorials
12 Hrs.
Other student study effort:
(Form AS 140) 7.2013

Pre-class reading
48 Hrs.

Report and essay writing
36 Hrs.
2
Total student study effort
Reading List and
References
122 Hrs.
Media:
Jiang Wen, Let the Bullets Fly (讓子彈飛), 2010.
Peter Chan. American Dream in China (中國合夥人), 2013
Andrew Lau and Alan Mak: Infernal Affairs (無間道) (2002).
Jiangsu Satellite TV: If You Are the One （非誠勿擾）.
Hunan Satellite TV: Where are We Going, Dad?（爸爸去哪兒？）
（2013-14）
Miyazaki Hayao : Nausicaä in the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Miyazaki Hayao: Spirited Away (2001)
Winter Sonata (2004)
Man from the Stars (2014)
Hana yori dango (2005)
Nodame cantabile (2007)
Kesurupan/Possessed (2008)
Farah Khan, Om Shanti Om (2007).
Karan Johar, My Name is Khan (2010).
Readings:
Required readings:
Esther C.M Yau ed. At Full Speed: Hong Kong cinema in a borderless
world, Minneapolis and London, University of Minnesota Press, 2001.
(ER: pp.1-28).
Iwabuchi, Koichi. “Nostalgia for a (Different) Asian Modernity: Media
Consumption of “Asia” in Japan. Positions 10:3 (2002). (ER: pp. 547-73).
Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: an Introduction.
Harlow: Prentice Hall, 2001. (ER: pp.1-242).
Supplementary readings:
Abbas, Ackbar, Hong Kong: Culture and the Politics of Disappearance,
Minneapolis and London, University of Minnesota Press, 1997.
Allen, Matthew and Rumi Sakamoto (eds), Popular Culture,
Globalization and Japan, London: Routledge, 2006.
Appadurai, Arjun. Disjuncture and Difference in the Global, Philadelphia:
Project, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990.
Athique, Adrian, ‘Bollywood, Brand India and Soft Power’, chapter 6 in
Indian Media, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2012.
Berry, Chris and Mary Farquhar, China on Screen: Cinema and Nation,
Columbia University Press, New York, 2012.
Kitley, Philip (2000), Television, Nation, and Culture in Indonesia,
Athens, Ohio, Ohio University Center for International Studies.
Miklitsch, Robert (2006), Roll over Adorno: Critical theory, popular
culture, audiovisual media, Albany, State University of New York Press.
Pauwels, Heidi R. M. (2007) (ed), Indian Literature and Popular Cinema
Recasting Classics, London and New York, Routledge.
Sen, Krishna and Hill, David T. (2000), Media, Culture and Politics in
Indonesia, Melbourne, Oxford University Press.
Zhang, Yingjin, 2004, Chinese National Cinema, Routledge, New York
and London.
輔助書目：
(Form AS 140) 7.2013
3
金冠軍等，《亞洲傳媒發展的結構轉型》，上海：上海三聯出版
社，2009。(CR: 第一編到第三編, 約 200 頁 ) 。
孫承,《日本軟實力研究》，北京：中國政法大學出版社，2014。
(CR：第二章到第四章，約 100 頁)。
田景等，《韓國文化論》，廣州：中山大學出版社，2010。
王向華等，《汎亞洲動漫研究》，濟南：山東人民出版社，2012。
武斌等,《中國流行文化三十年（1978-2008）》，九州出版社，
2009。
吳詠梅等，《越界的日本流行文化》，濟南：山東人民出版社，
2010。
Note 1: Intended Learning Outcomes
Intended learning outcomes should state what students should be able to do or attain upon completion
of the subject. Subject outcomes are expected to contribute to the attainment of the overall
programme outcomes.
Note 2: Subject Synopsis/ Indicative Syllabus
The syllabus should adequately address the intended learning outcomes. At the same time overcrowding of the syllabus should be avoided.
Note 3: Teaching/Learning Methodology
This section should include a brief description of the teaching and learning methods to be employed
to facilitate learning, and a justification of how the methods are aligned with the intended learning
outcomes of the subject.
Note 4:Assessment Method
This section should include the assessment method(s) to be used and its relative weighting, and
indicate which of the subject intended learning outcomes that each method purports to assess. It
should also provide a brief explanation of the appropriateness of the assessment methods in assessing
the intended learning outcomes.
(Form AS 140) 7.2013
4
Form AS 140
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Subject Description Form
Please read the notes at the end of the table carefully before completing the form.
Subject Code
Subject Title
Credit Value
Level
Pre-requisite /
Co-requisite/
Exclusion
Objectives
Intended Learning
Outcomes
(Note 1)
Subject Synopsis/
Indicative Syllabus
(Note 2)
(Form AS 140) 7.2013
FH1C02M
An Introduction to Asian Popular Culture 亞洲流行文化導論
3
1
Nil.
The subject aims to provide a perspective in understanding Asian popular
culture in the flow of globalization by introducing cultural theories that
analyze popular culture and the media as well as western-developed
concepts in defining and analyzing them. Key regional trends in
televisions, films, media systems and pan-Asian development of popular
culture, with particular focus on the analysis of film, TV dramas, comics
and popular music, will be introduced. Areas to be focused on are South
Korea, China Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia and India.
Upon completion of the subject, students will be able to:
a. have a basic understanding of issues and themes in contemporary
East, Southeast and South Asian popular culture with reference to
inter-cultural dialogue, transnational flows as well as globalization;
b. have a decent knowledge of the socio-cultural context of
contemporary Asian critical inquiry;
c. have a basic idea in cultural studies concepts and methodologies;
d. develop critical analytical skills in understanding popular culture;
e. have library and web-based research skills relevant to Asian studies,
cultural studies and media studies.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Introduction
Understanding popular culture
Cosmopolitanism and Chineseness in Hong Kong Popular Culture
Taiwanese popular culture in Chinese speaking regions
Nationalism in Chinese films
Consumerism in Chinese real live TV shows
J-pop and K-pop
Transnational flows of popular culture in East Asia I: the case of
hanryu and Korea TV drama
9. Transnational flows of popular culture in East Asia II: the case of
Japanese TV drama
10. What is Subculture?
11. Popular Culture in Indonesia
12. The Bollywood Identity and Bollywood’s Response to Americanism
13. Asian Century
4
Teaching/Learning
Methodology
(Note 3)
Assessment
Methods in
Alignment with
Intended Learning
Outcomes
(Note 4)
Pre-class readings will be supplemented by the use of pictorials, audio
and video materials in the lectures. Students are also required to watch
media items for tutorial discussion. At the beginning of the semester
students will be assigned a topic of Asian cultural item or phenomenon to
study with and later deliver oral presentations in the tutorials. Students
will submit a written report based on their oral presentations, which will
be developed into a term paper with research elements.
Specific
%
Intended subject learning outcomes to be
assessment
weighting assessed (Please tick as appropriate)
methods/tasks
a
b
c
d
e
1. Final quiz
20%
√
√
√
2. Class
10%
√
√
√
√
√
Discussion
3. Group Oral
20%
√
√
√
√
√
Presentation
4. Final Essay
50%
√
√
√
√
√
(2,000 words
minimum*)
Total
100 %
*The length of the final essay is 2,000 words minimum for the International Summer
School non-RW version.
Student Study
Effort Expected
Explanation of the appropriateness of the assessment methods in assessing
the intended learning outcomes:
1. The final quiz, including multiple choice questions and simple answer
questions, will help gauge students’ mastering of the key concepts of
analyzing popular culture and major issues covered in the lectures and
required readings.
2. The class discussion helps students to develop communicative skills
as well as to gauge the concepts and analytical tools in studying
specific popular culture.
3. The group oral presentation can inform the teacher the progress
students have made in their general grasp of the subject and their skill
in writing and oral communication.
4. The final essay can help assess the students’ overall in-depth
understanding of the subject.
Class contact:

Lectures
26 Hrs.

Tutorials
12 Hrs.
Other student study effort:
Reading List and
References
(Form AS 140) 7.2013

Pre-class reading
48 Hrs.

Report and essay writing
36 Hrs.
Total student study effort
Media:
Jiang Wen, Let the Bullets Fly (讓子彈飛), 2010.
Peter Chan. American Dream in China (中國合夥人), 2013
Andrew Lau and Alan Mak: Infernal Affairs (無間道) (2002).
122 Hrs.
5
Jiangsu Satellite TV: If You Are the One （非誠勿擾）.
Hunan Satellite TV: Where are We Going, Dad? （爸爸去哪兒？）
（2013-14）
Miyazaki Hayao : Nausicaä in the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Miyazaki Hayao: Spirited Away (2001)
Winter Sonata (2004)
Man from the Stars (2014)
Hana yori dango (2005)
Nodame cantabile (2007)
Kesurupan/Possessed (2008)
Farah Khan, Om Shanti Om (2007).
Karan Johar, My Name is Khan (2010).
Readings:
Required readings:
Esther C.M Yau ed. At Full Speed: Hong Kong cinema in a borderless
world, Minneapolis and London, University of Minnesota Press, 2001.
(ER: pp.1-28).
Iwabuchi, Koichi. “Nostalgia for a (Different) Asian Modernity: Media
Consumption of “Asia” in Japan. Positions 10:3 (2002). (ER: pp. 54773).
Storey, John. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: an Introduction.
Harlow: Prentice Hall, 2001. (ER: pp.1-242).
Supplementary readings:
Abbas, Ackbar, Hong Kong: Culture and the Politics of Disappearance,
Minneapolis and London, University of Minnesota Press, 1997.
Allen, Matthew and Rumi Sakamoto (eds), Popular Culture,
Globalization and Japan, London: Routledge, 2006.
Appadurai, Arjun. Disjuncture and Difference in the Global, Philadelphia:
Project, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990.
Athique, Adrian, ‘Bollywood, Brand India and Soft Power’, chapter 6 in
Indian Media, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2012.
Berry, Chris and Mary Farquhar, China on Screen: Cinema and Nation,
Columbia University Press, New York, 2012.
Kitley, Philip (2000), Television, Nation, and Culture in Indonesia,
Athens, Ohio, Ohio University Center for International Studies.
Miklitsch, Robert (2006), Roll over Adorno: Critical theory, popular
culture, audiovisual media, Albany, State University of New York Press.
Pauwels, Heidi R. M. (2007) (ed), Indian Literature and Popular Cinema
Recasting Classics, London and New York, Routledge.
Sen, Krishna and Hill, David T. (2000), Media, Culture and Politics in
Indonesia, Melbourne, Oxford University Press.
Zhang, Yingjin, 2004, Chinese National Cinema, Routledge, New York
and London.
Note 1: Intended Learning Outcomes
Intended learning outcomes should state what students should be able to do or attain upon
completion of the subject. Subject outcomes are expected to contribute to the attainment of the
overall programme outcomes.
(Form AS 140) 7.2013
6
Note 2: Subject Synopsis/ Indicative Syllabus
The syllabus should adequately address the intended learning outcomes. At the same time overcrowding of the syllabus should be avoided.
Note 3: Teaching/Learning Methodology
This section should include a brief description of the teaching and learning methods to be
employed to facilitate learning, and a justification of how the methods are aligned with the
intended learning outcomes of the subject.
Note 4:Assessment Method
This section should include the assessment method(s) to be used and its relative weighting, and
indicate which of the subject intended learning outcomes that each method purports to assess. It
should also provide a brief explanation of the appropriateness of the assessment methods in
assessing the intended learning outcomes.
(Form AS 140) 7.2013
7