21G.035 | Fall 2003 | Undergraduate, Graduate

Topics in Culture and Globalization

Readings

WEEK # TOPICS READINGS
1

Culture and Globalization

Lecture: Introduction to Culture and Globalization/Goals of the Course

Film: First Contact (in Class, 55 min.) and Discussion.
2 A Pre-History of Globalization: Guns, Germs, and Steel

Greider, William. “The Real Cancun: WTO Heads Nowhere.” In The Nation. Sept. 22, 2003. pp. 11-20.

Diamond, Jared. “Preface: Why is World History Like an Onion?” In Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel. W.W. Norton & Company, 1999, pp. 9-11.

———. “Prologue: Yali’s Question.” In Guns, Germs, and Steel. pp. 13-32.

———. “Collision at Cajamarca.” Chapter 3 in Guns,Germs, and Steel, pp. 67-81.

———. “Hemisphere’s Colliding.” Chapter 18 in Guns,Germs, and Steel. pp. 354-375.

Beynon, John, and David Dunkerley. “General Introduction.” In Globalization: The Reader. NY: Routledge, 2000.

Film: Trobriand Cricket (50 min.) and Discussion.

3 Cultural Activism and Minority Claims

“Introduction.” In Ginsburg, Faye, Lila Abu-Lughod and Brian Larkin, Editors. Media Worlds. University of California Press, 2002.

Ginsburg, Faye. “Screen Memories.” In Media Worlds.

*Turner, Terrence. “*Representation, Politics, and Cultural Imagination in Indigenous Video.” In Media Worlds.

McLagan, Meg. “Spectacles of Difference.” In Media Worlds.

Film: Kayapo: Out of the Forest.

4 Hip-Hop as Cultural Movement

Eshun, Kodwo. “Sampladelia of the Breakbeat.” In More Brilliant than the Sun: Adventures in Sonic Fiction. London: Quartet Books Ltd., 1998. pp. 25-61.

George, Nelson. “Capitalist Tool.” In Hip-Hop America. NY: Penguin, 1998.

Mitchell, Tony. “Introduction: Another Root-Hip-Hop Outside USA.” In Global Noise. Wesleyan University Press, 2002.

Urla, Jacqueline. “We Are All Malcolm X.” In Global Noise. (Basque in Spain) 

Film: Scratch

5 Hip-Hop in Japan

Condry, Ian. “Introduction.” Chapter 1 in Japanese Hip-Hop (forthcoming) (Book Manuscript) (PDF)

———. “Race: Black Culture, Yellow B-Boys and the Elvis Effect.” Chapter 2 in Japanese Hip Hop

———. “Genba: Locating the Power of Popular Music .” Chapter 3 in Japanese Hip-Hop.

———. “A History of Japanese Rap Music: Street Dance, Club Music, Pop Market.” In Global Noise.

Mitchell, Tony. “Fightin’ the Faida” In Global Noise. pp. 194.

6 Hip-Hop in Europe and the Islamic Connection

Prevos, Andre J. M. “Postcolonial Popular Music in France.” In Global Noise. pp. 39 - 56.

Swedenburg, Ted. “Islamic Hip-Hop and Islamophobia.” In Global Noise. pp. 57-85.

Hesmondalgh and Melville. “Urban Breakbeat Culture.” In Global Noise. pp. 86-110.

Pennay, Mark. “Rap in Germany.” In Global Noise.

Or, if no Presentation, Film: La Haine (Hate).

7 Lessons from Hip-Hop

Morelli, Sarah. “Who is Dancing Hero.” In Global Noise. (Korea)

Maxwell, Ian. “Sydney Stylee.” In Global Noise. (Australia)

Mitchell, Tony. “Kia Kaha! (Be Strong).” In Global Noise. (Aotearoa-New Zealand)

Film: Documentary About International Hip-Hop.

8 Coolhunters: Who’s Got it?

Gladwell, Malcolm. “The Coolhunters.” In New Yorker Magazine. March 17, 1997.

Shakar, Alex. The Savage Girl. Perennial Publishers, 2002.

Davila, Arlene. “Culture in the Ad World: Producing the Latin Look.” In Media Worlds.

Film in Class: The Merchants of Cool. (PBS Frontline on Trend Spotters)

9 No Logo

Klein, Naomi. “Introduction.” In No Logo. Picador USA, 1999, pp. xiii-xxi.

———. “New Branded World.” Chapter 1 in No Logo

———. “A Tale of Three Logos: The Swoosh, the Shell, the Arches Conclusion, Consumerism versus Citizenship.” Chapter 16 in No Logo.

Film in Class: Black, S. Life and Debt. (About Sweatshops in Jamaica.)

10 “Music Wants to be Free”: MP3, P2P - Anarchy or Activism?

Jenkins, Henry. “Quentin Tarantino’s Star Wars? Digital Cinema, Media Convergence, and Participatory Culture.” In Rethinking Media Change: The Aesthetics of Transition. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003.

Vaidhyanathan, Siva. “The Anarchist in the Library.” 2002. 
An introduction to his argument about the cultural politics of P2P networks. (View cybercast of U.S. Library of Congress Luminary Lecuter by Dr. Vaidhyanathan on this article.)

Condry. “The Digital Revolution in Music.” (Forthcoming)

Selections from Billboard Magazine (Trade Magazine for Record Co.s)

Film: Excerpts from Sonic Outlaws.

11 Television Nations

Abu-Lughod, Lila. “Egyptian Melodrama.” In Media Worlds

Mankekar, Purnima. “Epic Contests.” In Media Worlds. (India)

Wilk, Richard. “Television, Time, and National Imaginary.” In Media Worlds. (Belize)

12 Transnational Media

Mandel, Ruth. “Marshall Plan of the Mind.” In Media Worlds. (Kazakhstan)

Schein, Louisa. “Mapping Hmong Media…” In Media Worlds.

Ganti, Tejaswini. “And Yet My Heart is Still Indian.” In Media Worlds.

13 Globalization as the End of Culture?

Iwabuchi, Koichi. “Becoming Culturally Proximate: Japanese TV Dramas in Taiwan.” Chapter 4 in Recentering Globalization: Popular Culture and Japanese Transnationalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2002. pp. 121-157.

Film (Tentative): The Japanese Version.

14 Conclusions and the Future of Globalization

Web Sites or Supplementary Material Based on Student Presentations and the Question for the In-class Discussion

In Class Discussion: What is the Future of Global Cultural Politics?

Course Info

Instructor
As Taught In
Fall 2003
Learning Resource Types
Lecture Notes
Presentation Assignments
Written Assignments