Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2025 - GA 202 D100

Studies in Global Asia (3)

Asian Popular Cultures

Class Number: 7086

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2025: Mon, 9:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    15 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Introduces students to a topic in Global Asian Studies not otherwise covered in depth by regularly scheduled courses. Sample topics include South Asian diasporas; Global Asia in Vancouver; refugee experiences; or Korean culture. This course may be repeated for credit only when a different topic is taught. Students with credit for ASC 202 may not take this course for further credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course explores the diverse and dynamic landscape of Asian popular cultures, examining how media, entertainment, and consumer cultures from East, Southeast, and South Asia are produced, circulated, and consumed both regionally and globally. We will critically engage with key debates around globalization, transnationalism, cultural hybridization, and the political economy of cultural production. Through case studies such as K-pop, anime, Bollywood, and digital culture, students will investigate how Asian popular cultures shape and are shaped by global flows of capital, technology, and people. The course emphasizes the intersections of race, gender, and class in the consumption and production of these cultural forms and their role in transregional identity-making.

This course encompasses a diverse range of subjects within Asian popular culture, highlighting various geographical, religious, and historical contexts of the regions. Students will investigate globalization and the transnational dissemination of Asian popular cultures, analyzing phenomena such as K-Pop and the Korean Wave (Hallyu), with an emphasis on industry, fandom, and the worldwide proliferation of Korean media. Japanese visual culture, encompassing anime, manga, otaku subcultures, and international adaptations, is examined in conjunction with Bollywood and South Asian media, focusing on representation, diaspora, and Bollywood's global impact. The course examines the interplay between tradition and modernity in Southeast Asia, illustrating the region's intricate cultural dynamics, alongside digital culture throughout Asia, emphasizing the effect of social media, influencers, and distinctive content formats such as Webtoon and Mukbang. Students will evaluate gender and sexuality in Asian popular culture from feminist and queer perspectives, and examine the reception and transformation of Asian popular cultures in the West through appropriation, hybridization, and cross-cultural discourse.

Grading

  • Attendance and participation 15%
  • Reflective papers (2, 600-800 words each) 30%
  • Presentation 20%
  • Term paper (1750-2500 words) 35%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

  • All course texts will be either available through Canvas or shown in class.
  • Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.