Universität Wien

150017 VU Music and Identity: East Asian Popular Music (2013W)

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 15 - Ostasienwissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Thursday 03.10. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 10.10. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 17.10. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 24.10. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 31.10. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 07.11. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 14.11. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 21.11. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 28.11. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 05.12. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 12.12. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 09.01. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 16.01. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 23.01. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Thursday 30.01. 12:30 - 14:00 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

East Asian popular music has been crossing national borders since the 1970s. This course tracks its development—historically, regionally, and globally—to show how it functions in the construction of East Asian cultural or national identity. The course starts with a historical overview of East Asian popular music and proceeds to examine the growing circulation of popular music in the region and governments’ policies to promote local music regionally. Topics covered include Japanese pop music in the region, Hong Kong and Taiwanese pop music in Mainland China, and Korean pop music (K-pop) in East and South Asia. The circulation of these kinds of music shows how the music industry and cultural policies are changing and how music has become a significant marker of cultural or national identity.
Contemporary East Asian popular music has gained attention in the global music market because of the success of K-pop, especially Korean idol girl or boy groups. K-pop’s best global success has been Korean singer Psy’s “Gangnam Style.” This specific singer brings attention not only to K-pop but to East Asian popular music in general. Unlike in the past, when Western (especially American) popular music swept Asia and Asians struggled to find their own cultural taste and identity, East Asians have found a new musical identity by blending Western music with Asian values and sentiments to create a uniquely East Asian popular style—music with its own distinctive character.

Assessment and permitted materials

Every student is required to participate in at least 80 percent of the classes and should actively participate in the class discussion. Every student is required to participate in a group presentation. The number of the group will be dependent on the amount of the students who will be enrolled. Students will be graded 30 percent on participation in the class discussion and attendance, 30 percent on the group presentation, and 40 percent on a final test. The final test will be an “open-book” test at the end of the semester.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

This course aims at improving the student’s understandings of East Asian popular music. It also aims to provide students with an understanding of various pertinent issues, such as globalization, Asian values and identity, regionalism, localization, and nationalism in East Asian perspectives.

Examination topics

Every class will consist of a lecture, discussion of the assigned reading, and student presentations. Students will be required to read assigned readings before attending the class, and will be required to participate fully in class discussions. The lecture and the readings will include topics relevant to East Asian popular music and an overview of the contemporary East Asian cultural scene and how it circulates. Issues and background information pertinent to popular music and to East Asian popular culture generally will be discussed.

Reading list

Brace, Timothy. 1991. “Popular Music in Contemporary Beijing: Modernism and Cultural Identity.” Asian Music 22(2):43–66.

Cohen, Sara. 1993. “Ethnography and Popular Music Studies.” Popular Music 12(2): 123–140.

Gold, Thomas B. 1993. “Go With Your Feelings: Hong Kong and Taiwan Popular Culture in Greater China.” China Quarterly 136:907–925.

Guy, Nancy. 2002. “Republic of China National Anthem on Taiwan; One Anthem, One Performance, Multiple Realities.” Ethnomusicology 46(1).

Ho, Wai-Chung. 2003. “Between Globalisation and Localisation: A Study of Hong Kong Popular Music.” Popular Music 22(2):143–157.

Howard, Keith, ed. 2006. Korean Pop Music: Riding the Wave. London: Global Oriental Press.

Jones, Andrew. 1992. Like a Knife: Ideology and Genre in Contemporary Chinese Music. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Leng, Sui-jin. 1991. “The Shock of Hong Kong and Taiwan Popular Songs.” Popular Music and Society 15(Summer): 23-32.

Mitchell, Tony, ed. 2001. Global Noise. Middleton, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press.

Taylor, Timothy D. 1997. Global Pop: World Music, World Markets. New York: Routledge.

Yang, Fang-Chih Irene, 1994. “The History of Popular Music in Taiwan.” Popular Music and Society 18(3):53–66.

Association in the course directory

WM4

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:35