The University of Hong Kong Critical issues of media, culture and creative cities
Offer semester
2nd semester
Lecture time
Monday 19:00 – 21:50
Lecture venue
CPD-1.24
Course description
This course will provide an overview of some critical issues of media, culture, and creative cities. The purpose is to shed light on specific expressions of far-reaching concerns in our media-driven world. We do so by drawing on key concepts and empirical findings from the social sciences and related disciplines. Topics include cultural identity and representation, soft power, narrative, globalization, media industries, creativity the imagination, and fandom.
We also use a comparative approach, in part to clarify local and regional dynamics. Through various case studies and with guest speakers, we will evaluate issues that inspire yet also impede professionals in urban media and creative industries. Class discussion is an important part of this course.
Course learning outcomes
- Identify critical issues of media, culture, and creative cities.
- Acquire the capability to meaningfully comprehend and analyze theoretical and public discourse on media, culture and creative cities..
- Critically evaluate comparisons between the local, regional, and global expression of course issues.
- Engage with media, culture, and creative practitioners in productive dialogues.
Assessment
| Tasks | Weighting |
|---|---|
| Presentation | 10% |
| Group Presentation | 15% |
| Quiz | 25% |
| Final Paper | 50% |
Required reading
Nye, Joseph. 2011. Soft Power. The Future of Power.
Yoshiko, Nakano. Shared Memories: Japanese Pop Culture in China. Soft Power Superpowers: Cultural and National Assets of Japan and the United States.
Hesmondhalgh, David and Sarah Baker. 2013. Creative Labor: Media Work in Three Cultural Industries. Selected Chapters.
Szeto, Mirana and Yun-chung Chen. 2013. “To Work or Not to Work: The Dilemma of Hong Kong Film Labor in the Age of Mainlandization,” Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media 55 Fall.
Miller, Vincent. 2011. Understanding Digital Culture. London: Sage Publications. Selected Chapters.
Florida, Richard. The Rise of the Creative Class, Revised. 2014. Basic Books. Selected chapters.
Recommended reading
Inda, Jonathan Xavier and Renato Rosaldo. 2007. Tracking Global Flows. The Anthropology of Globalization: A Reader.
Chan, Joseph M., Anthony Y.H. Fung, and CH Ng. 2010. Policies for the Sustainable Development of the Hong Kong Film Industry. HKIAPS, Research Monograph Series, Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, CUHK.