Syllabus

CUS 103 Cultural Analysis

Instructor: IP, Iam Chong Email: chong@ln.edu.hk
Contact no.: 2616-7443 Office: GE 319
URL: http://culanalysis.blogspot.com/ (course); http://cuanalysis.wikispaces.org/ (wiki version)
http://hegelchong.blogspot.com (Chinese)
http://prisonnotebook.blogspirit.com/ (English)

Course Description

This course provides students with some analytical and methodological tools and encourages them to have critical reflection upon their everyday life. Cultural studies, as a new and mutidiscipline, is characterized by its methodological and theoretical diversity. It emphasizes on the dynamic connections between research problem, method, theoretical approach, analytical concept and subject matter. Students will explore culture from three different dimensions, experience, representation and institution. They are required to finish a series of exercises and a research proposal.

Requirement

Two Exercises (10%)
Please submit two exercises in this semester according to their due dates respectively. They are intended to inspire your cultural thinking and enhance your sensitivity to relevant issues. For details, please see "Exercises".

Research proposal (15%)
Please submit a research proposal by the end of this semester. It includes:
-Research problem and objective
-Literature review
-research method
-Bibliography

Develop your propsoal according to your interest. A good research proposal starts with a good question or problem. In literature review, you are not required to cover a lot of works on your topic but you should have a rough picture of the debate over it. Clearly state your method and give some reasons for choosing it. Bibliography includes books or articles you have read or you are going to read for preparing this research.

Due Date: Dec 9

Cultural blog (15%)
Everyone's got to have a blog. Tell me the URL within the first week of this semester. You may take it as your diary. But you have to put your reflections upon cultural issues, problems, concepts and theories in it at least once a week. You are strongly recommended to comment on others' blog. Join and enjoy the blog culture!!

Tutorial (30%)
Please see the attachment.

Final examination (30%)
You are required to answer two questions in essay form.

Schedule

[Week 1: Sept 2] Briefing

[Week 2: Sept 9] Introduction I: What is culture? What is cultural analysis?
*Storey, John 2001. "What is Popular Culture." Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An
Introduction. NY: Prentice Hall, 1-15.
Williams, Raymond. 1961. "The Analysis of Culture." The Long Revolution. London: Penguin, 57-88.
張志偉2002＜普及文化研究簡述＞吳俊雄、張志偉編《閱讀香港普及文化1970-2000》香港：牛津大學出版社。

[Week 3: Sept 16] Introduction II: Culture and Civilization
*Storey, John. 2001. "The 'Culture and Civilization' Tradition." Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. NY: Prentice Hall, 17-35.
陳雲等2000《天書impossible：論香港的中國文化教育》香港：青文書屋。

[Week 4: Sept 23] Introduction III: Basics of cultural analysis
*Stokes, Jane. 2003. "Chapter 1: Getting Started." How to do media and cultural studies. London: SAGE, 7-37.
Strauss, Anselm and Juliet Corbin. 1998. "Part I. Basic Consideration." Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks: SAGE, 1-54.
Gray, Ann. 2003. "Part II: The Research Process." Research practice for cultural studies: ethnographic methods and lived cultures. London: SAGE.
Disney dialogue dilemma

Part A: Experience (Week 5-6)

[Week 5: Sept 30] A1. Oral history
Special topic: Experiencing gender and sexuality
*江文瑜1996＜口述史法＞《質性研究：理論、方法及本土女性研究實例》台北：巨流，249-270。
Ritchie, Donald A. 1995. Doing Oral History. NY: Twayne Publishers, Chapter 1 and Chapter 3.
Savin-Williams, Ritch C. 2004(1997). "Memories of Same-Sex Attractions." Men's Lives. Edited by Michael S. Kimmel and Michael A. Messner. NY: Macmillan, 116-132.
新婦女協進會編1999《又喊又笑：阿婆口述歷史》香港：新婦女協進會。
Step by step guide to oral history

[Week 6: Oct 7] A2. Ethnographic methods I
Special topic: Living in/with cultural industry
*何詠華2003＜我沒有芭比娃娃＞《文化G點》香港：文化研究系，頁22-42。
Rogers, Mary. 1999. "Emphatic Femininity." Barbie Culture. London: SAGE, pp.11-35. *Gray, Ann. 2003. "1. Grasping Lived Cultures." "2. Articulating Experience." Research practice for cultural studies. London: SAGE, pp. 11-24; 25-36.
盧韻詩2003＜又愛又恨的LOMO＞《文化G點》香港：文化研究系，頁44-63。
The Project on Disney. 1995. "Working at the rat." Inside the Mouse: Work and Play at Disney World. Durham and London: Duke UP, pp. 110-162.
蔡穎儀2001＜看與不看－－媽媽為何不再與我看恐怖片？＞《差異與平等：香港婦女運動的新挑戰》香港：新婦女協進會，頁211-216。

[Week 7: Oct 14] A3. Ethnographic methods II
Guest speaker: Ms Lam Oi Wan

Part B: Representation (Week 8-10)
[Week 8: Oct 21] B1. Semiotic approach
Special topic: media, gender and sexuality
*林宇玲2004＜第十一章：解讀媒體中的性別意涵＞《媒體識讀：一個批判的開始》香港：正中書局，137-150。
*Branston, Gill. 2003. The Media Student's Book. London and NY: Routledge, Chapter 10.
葉蔭聰2005《媒體識讀》
Inness, Sherrie A. 2004. "Pretty Tough: The Cult of Feminity in Women's Magazines." Critical Readings: Media and Gender. Edited by Cynthia Carter and Linda Steiner. Maidenhead: Open UP, 123-142.
林芳玫 1996 《女性與媒體再現──女性主義與社會建構論的觀點》

[Week 9: Oct 28] B2. Narrative analysis
Special topic: History and histories
*Branston, Gill. 2003. The Media Student's Book. London and NY: Routledge, Chapter 3.
Fiske, John. 1990. Introduction to Communication Studies. London and New York: Routledge, Chapter 3 and 5.
*呂大樂2002(1997)＜自成一體的香港社會＞《閱讀香港普及文化1970-2000》香港：牛津大學出版社，頁663-670。
王宏志2000《歷史的沉重：從香港看中國大陸的香港史論述》香港：牛津大學出版社，第三章。

[Week 10: Nov 4] B3. Representation, experience and social context
Special Topic: Visual culture and women
*Mulvey, Laura. 1975. "Visual Culture and Narrative Cinema." Screen 16.3 Autumn, pp. 6-18.
*Kaplan, E. Ann. 2004(1983). "Is the Gaze Male?" Women's studies in the academy: origins and impact. Edited by Robyn L. Rosen. Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Pearson/Prentice Hall, 257-268.
Berger, Arthur Asa. 黃新生譯，1994. ＜精神分析的批評方法＞《媒介分析方法》，台北：遠流，頁65-84。
Ku, Lisbeth. 1998. “Mass-Mediated Images of Women: Connie Chan Po-chu and Josephine Siao Fong-fong as Desired Cultural Images.” Hong Kong Cultural Studies Bulletin 8-9(Spring/ Summer): 31-40.

Part C: Institution (Week 11-13)
[Week 11: Nov 11] C1. Analysis of Cultural Industries
Special Topic: TV culture
*馬傑偉1997＜電視建構的香港記憶－－《香港傳奇》＞《二十一世紀》41期，頁121-127 (handout)。
*Stokes, Jane. 2003. "Researching Media Institutions and the Culture Industries." How to do media and cultural studies. London: SAGE, 98-127.
Douglas Kellner." The Frankfurt School and British Cultural Studies: The Missed Articulation."
馬傑偉2002(1996)＜電視文化的歷史分析（節錄）＞《閱讀香港普及文化1970-2000》香港：牛津大學出版社，頁681-694。

[Week 12: Nov 18] C2. Ideological and Discourse analysis
Special Topic: Education
*Branston, Gill. 2003. The Media Student's Book. London and NY: Routledge, Chapter 12.
*喬治．瑞澤爾(George Ritzer)著，謝立中等譯，2003＜米歇爾爾．福柯 [1]：知識考古學；權力譜系學＞《後現代社會理論》北京：華夏出版社。
Ritzer, George.1997. "Michel Foucault: Part 1: Archaeology of Knowledge; Genealog of Power." Postmodern Social Theory. NY: McGraw-Hill, 31-62.
陳景輝及葉綺雯2002＜學校不能壟斷教育＞《E+E》第二期，Winter/Spring。
Foucault, Michel. 1972. "Truth and Power." Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews & Other Writings 1972-1977. NY: Pantheon, 109-133.
Fendler, Lynn. 1998. "What is it impossible to Think? A Genealogy of the Educated Subject." Foucault's Challenge: Discourse, Knowledge, and Power in Education. Edited by Thomas S. Popkewitz and Marie Brennan. New York and London: Teachers College, Columbia University, 39-63.
佚名2001＜告別成人帝國link＞
Fairclough, Norman. 1992. "Michel Foucault and the Analysis of Discourse." Discourse and Social Change. Cambridge: Polity, pp. 37-61.
Fairclough, Norman. 1992. "Text Analysis: Constructing Social Reality." Discourse and Social Change. Cambridge: Polity, pp. 169-199.

[Week 13: Nov 25] C3. Media ethnography and techno-culture
Special topic: Media, family and community
*Rogge, Jan-Uwe. 1989. “The Media in everyday family life: Some biographical and typological aspects.” Remote Control: Television, Audiences & Cultural Power. Edited by Ellen Seiter, Hans Borchers, Gabriele Kreutzner and Eva-Maria Warth. London: Routledge.
Farrell, Henry and Drezner, Daniel W. (Aug. 2004). The Power and Politics of Blogs
Marshall, Jon. 2003. "Internet Politics in an Information economy." Fibreculture Journal, issue no. 1.

[Week 14: Dec 2] Conclusion

Readings

-All marked items and tutorial materials are required readings.
-Try to cover those recommended readings interest you most.
-《文化G點》is highly recommended.

Other References

何春蕤｜文化研究概論link
張錦華｜質化研究link
劉人鵬｜文化研究導論link
Marxism and cultural studies link
林鶴玲｜性別與媒體 link
Kate Chiwen Liu | Cultural studies: from romantic poetry to Taipei streets link
A vocabulary of culture

Exercises

1. Narrating your own experience and reflects on the pleasures, passions and purposes of owning or shopping. Topics might be: a favorite possession; collecting (cards, toys, books . . .); family shopping traditions; gift exchange; holiday shopping; travel and shopping; You will want to include anecdotes from your own experience, what you've observed, what pleases you, perplexes you, amuses you, troubles you, makes you wonder. . . You may include ideas, comments, phrases, etc., from other writers, friends, classmates, movies or songs, citing them informally. Try your best to collect some background information about your possession or your behavior.
References:
何詠華2003; 盧韻詩2003
Fiske, John. 1995. "Shopping for Pleasure: Malls, Power and Resistance." Reading culture: Contexts for critical reading and writing. Second edition. Edited by Diana George and John Trimbur. NY: Harper Collins, pp. 307-312.
(Due date: Oct 21)

2. Pick an ad from magazine, newspaper or TV that you enjoy reading or watching. Write a paper on it. Treat the ad like a text – what message do you think the ad is trying to deliver? Pay attention to the position of the actors, their clothing, the objects in the scene, the lighting, the wordings, the angle of the camera, and whatever else you think of (surprise me) to prove your point. Be detailed.
In your conclusion try to go to the next level – what is the relevance of this ad to the society? Have you seen this occur in other ads, commercials or TV shows? Is this ad a part of a collective feeling? Why did you pick this ad in the first place? Do you agree with the message of the ad? Why? How could it be improved or changed? Don’t just look at the surface of the ad in your analysis.
References:
林宇玲2004；葉蔭聰2005
Branston 2003
(Due date: Nov 11)

*Plagiarism is subject to serious penalty.
*Late submission is not allowed.