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East Asian Comparative Cultural Studies

Code: 101544
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
East Asian Studies OP 4
Spanish and Chinese Studies: Language, Literature and Culture OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Roberto Figliulo
Email :
roberto.figliulo@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Roberto Figliulo
Artur Lozano Mendez

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

This is one of the subjects corresponding to the East Asian Culture, Art and Literature specialisation, and it develops and builds on the content of the Advanced Issues in East Asian Art and Popular Culture subject. It is not compulsory to take both subjects, however, unless you want the specialisation to be included on your European Diploma Supplement (DS).

Half of the subject is taught in English and half is taught in Catalan.

Objectives

East Asian Comparative Cultural Studies emphasises the transnational and negotiated dimension of cultural processes and dynamics.

Students will become familiar with cultural studies by different East Asian authors who examine cultural phenomena/aspects of the region's social realities. They will also learn about the origins and the diversity of the approaches and methodologies that, as a hybrid discipline, cultural studies encompasses.

Learning outcomes

  1. Understanding the referential universe of written and verbal texts in the languages of East Asia.
  2. Knowing, comprehending, describing and analysing the values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia.
  3. Utilising different tools for specific purposes in the fields of history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
  4. Carrying out the documentary search in the specific languages of East Asia.
  5. Using the specific terminology of history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
  6. Assessing the obtained results in the information search process in order to update the knowledge about history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
  7. Recognising the connotations of the specific cultural references in the field of East Asia and assessing the influence in the interlinguistic and intercultural communication.
  8. Knowing and comprehending the foundations of the cultural comparative studies.
  9. Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  10. Developing self-learning strategies.
  11. Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  12. Students must be flexible and capable of adapting to new circumstances.
  13. Respecting the gender equality.
  14. Working in interdisciplinary and intercultural groups.
  15. Solving problems of intercultural communication.
  16. Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
  17. Develop critical thought and reasoning and know how to communicate them effectively in both your own and in a third language.
  18. Develop strategies for autonomous learning.
  19. Explain the explicit or implicit code of practice of one's own area of knowledge.
  20. Possess interpersonal skills.
  21. Identify the need to mobilise cultural knowledge to be able to translate.
  22. Recognise the need to mobilise cultural knowledge to be able to interpret.
  23. Use different tools for specific purposes in the field of history.
  24. Describe and analyse values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia.
  25. Recognise the connotations of specific cultural references in the area of East Asia studies, and evaluate their influence on interlinguistic and intercultural communication.
  26. Know, understand, describe and analyse the values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia.
  27. Know and understand the foundations of comparative cultural studies.
  28. Have cultural knowledge to be able to interpret.
  29. Have cultural knowledge to be able to translate.
  30. Evaluate the result obtained in the process of searching for documentation and information and to update knowledge of the history, literature, language, thought and art.
  31. Make document searches in the languages of East Asian countries.
  32. Ensure quality standards for your own work.

Contents

Section 1. Introduction to cultural studies + Japan and South Korea

- What is meant by culture. Culture registers. Distinction and consumption. Introduction to the study of culture.

- Basics and origins of cultural studies: the Birmingham School and Stuart Hall.

- Applied examples of comparative cultural studies involving Japan, Korea, or both.


Section 2. China

In the section dedicated to China, a deep reflection will be developed around a specific theme based on examples of contemporary cultural products made in the country. From the perspective of cultural studies and visual culture, we will reflect on how some of the main issues of contemporary China have been metabolized.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Analysis of a product or a phenomenon of popular culture. 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Reading of papers, theoretical documents and cultural products/phenomena. 30 1.2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Analysis of papers, theoretical documents and cultural products/phenomena. 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

East Asian Comparative Cultural Studies classes will be based on a critical reading/analysis of written and audiovisual texts chosen by lecturers and discussed with the students. Additional materials will be used to examine the topics raised by the main texts in greater depth. The lecturers will lead debate and discussion sessions and establish elements to be analysed. The realization of individual or group assignments encourages the students to deeper focusing on particular themes of the subject. In those cases, the students will realize oral presentations to share with their classmates their research progresses. Over the course of the semester the lecturer will hold individual and/or group tutorials to help students with their work.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Written exam on the contents of the section dedicated to China. 20% 2 0.08 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 16
Written assignment for the analysis of a popular culture product. (Japan and Korea section) 30% 48 1.92 3, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32
Analysis of a reading or a visual culture product through a written and oral assignment. (China section) 30% 48 1.92 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32
Written exam on Cultural Studies Theory. 20% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

In case of retaking, maximum grade will be 5 (Pass).


Assessment

Assessment is continuous. Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing various tasks and tests. Tasks and tests deadlines will be indicated in the course schedule on the first day of class. The information on assessment activities and their weighting is a guide. The subject's lecturer will provide full information when teaching begins.

Review

When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.

Missed/failed assessment activities

Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5.

The lecturer will inform students of the procedure involved, in writing, when publishing final marks prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for.

Classification as "not assessable"

In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.

Misconduct in assessment activities

Any irregularity committed during an assessment (academic fraud, plagiarism, or misuse of AI, unless expressly authorized in the course syllabus) that could lead to a significant change in the grade will result in a grade of 0 for that assessment. If multiple irregularities occur during assessments for the same course, the final grade for that course will be 0. Furthermore, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against any individual who commits any of these irregularities.

In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies may or may not be permitted depending on the activity. The permitted and prohibited uses in each case will be detailed in the course introduction. Students must clearly identify which parts were generated using AI technologies, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools influenced the process and the final result of the activity. A lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in graded assignments will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty on the assignment grade, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.

Assessment tasks

China section

20% Written test on the content of the section dedicated to China

30% Analysis of a reading or a visual culture product through a written and oral assignment.

Japan and South Korea section

30% Writing Test: A test will be delivered to evaluate the student’s grasp of the section’s content. These tests will relate to the themes presented in the classroom.

20% Working Paper: Students must deliver an individual paper that will focus on a research subject that they’ll need to select beforehand.

Single assessment

This subject may be assessed under the single assessment system in accordance with the terms established in the academic regulations of the UAB and the assessment criteria of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting.

Students must make an online request within the period established by the faculty and send a copy to the teacher responsible for the subject, for the record.

Single assessment will be carried out in person on one day during week 16 or 17 of the semester. The Academic Management Office will publish the exact date and time on the faculty website.

On the day of the single assessment, teaching staff will ask the student for identification, which should be presented as a valid identification document with a recent photograph (student card, DNI/NIE or passport).

Single assessment activities

The final grade for the subject will be calculated according to the following percentages:

40% Individual written assignment with oral exam on a topic related to the course content.

30% Written assignment on the content of the section dedicated to China.

30% Writing Test: A test will be delivered to evaluate the student’s grasp of the section’s content. These tests will relate to the themes presented in the classroom and will be available to them through the virtual platform. (Japan and South Korea section)

Grade revision and resit procedures for the subject are the same as those for continual assessment. See the section above in this study guide.

Bibliography

Cultural studies

Agger, B. (1992). Cultural Studies as Critical Theory. Philadelphia: Falmer.

Eagleton, T. (2001). La idea de cultura: una mirada política sobre los conflictos culturales. Barcelona: Paidós.

Gunster, S. (2004). Capitalizing on Culture: Critical Theory for Cultural Studies. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press.

Hall, S. (1997). Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: The Open University.

Lewis, J. (2002). Cultural Studies: the Basics. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Storey, J. (1997, 2009). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. New York: Prentice Hall, Harvester Wheatsheaf.

____ (ed.) (2009). Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader. Harlow: Longman.

Japan and South Korea

Allison, Anne (2006). Millennial Monsters: Japanese Toys and the Global Imagination (1st ed.). University of California Press.

Azuma, H. (2009). Otaku: Japan's Database Animals. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Consalvo, M. (2016). Atari to Zelda: Japan's Videogames in Global Contexts. Cambridge i Londres: MIT Press.

Galbraith, Patrick W. (2019). Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan. Duke University Press.

Hutchinson, R. (2019). Japanese Culture through Videogames. Londres & Nova York: Routdlege.

Ito, M.; Okabe, D.; Tsuji, I. (2012). Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Jin, Dal Yong (2020). Transmedia Storytelling in East Asia: The Age of Digital Media. Routledge.

Kim, Hyun Kyung y Choe, Youngmin (2014). The Korean Popular Culture Reader. Duke University Press.

Lozano-Méndez, A. (ed.) (2016). El Japón contemporáneo: una aproximación desde los estudios culturales. Barcelona: Edicions Bellaterra.

Mechademia. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

Steinberg, Marc (2019). The Platform Economy: How Japan Transformed the Consumer Internet. University of Minnesota Press.

____ (2012). Anime’s Media Mix: Franchising Toys and Characters in Japan. University of Minnesota Press.

Suan, Stevie (2021). Anime’s Identity: Performativity and Form beyond Japan. University of Minnesota Press.

Yoon, Tae-Jin y Jin, Dal Yong (2017) The Korean Wave: evolution, fandom and transnationality. Lexington Books.

China

Abbas, Ackbar M., (1997). Hong Kong: culture and the politics of disappearance. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Braester, Yomi (2010). Painting the city red: Chinese cinema and the urban contract. Durham: Duke University Press.

Chang, Ivy I-chu. (2019). Taiwan Cinema, Memory, and Modernity. Singapore: Palgrave-Macmillan. [Book online]

Keane, Michael. (2013). Creative industries in China art, design and media. Cambridge, U.K.: Polity. [Book online]

Lu, Sheldon, & Mi, Jiayan (2009). Chinese Ecocinema: In the Age of Environmental Challenge. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. [Book online]

Ren, Hai, Bo, Zheng, & Wu, Mali (2022). Portfolio: Planetary Art in the Sinophonecene: An Introduction. In Verge: Studies in Global Asias, Volume 8, Issue 2, Fall, pp. 24-45.

Shapiro, Judith (2016). China's environmental challenges. Cambridge: Polity Press. [Book online]

Visser, Robin (2010). Cities surround the countryside: urban aesthetics in post-socialist China. Durham: Duke University Press

Zhang, Yingjin (2012). A Companion to Chinese Cinema. Malden, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell. [Book online]

Zhang, Zhen (Ed.). (2007). The Urban generation: Chinese cinema and society at the turn of the Twenty-first Century. Durham: Duke University Press.

Software

The course does not require any particular software. Students will only need the kind of apps necessary to conduct common academic tasks.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed