This course aims to enhance the students’ understanding of contemporary China by analysing cultural phenomena related to media and the city. Contemporary China has various faces of post-Socialist society, a global superpower and a developing country and its culture poses complex questions. The students will read examples of cultural analyses and cultural theories to apply them to Chinese urban and media culture. We attempt to cover cutting-edge methodologies of cultural studies to critically apprehend the most consumer culture of the urban middle class, and explore topics such as shopping, fashion, the cosmetic industry, old and new media including film, TV, advertising and th internet cultures, visual art, popular music, architecture and sports.

Throughout this course, the students will learn how to approach urban and media culture of China and how to carry out critical analyses of cultural phenomena. For Tuesday’s class, we will discuss cultural approaches to the topics after reading the assigned materials. In Thursday’s class, the students will present their own analysis of a cultural with the instructor. For instance, they can produce a film, a theatrical performance, a song, MyWiki as well as PowerPoint or Prezi slides.