K-pop and Beyond

Catalog description

This course provides critical approaches to cultural flows from South Korea. We will employ theoretical concepts and critical vocabularies from cultural studies to deepen and sharpen our analysis of the cultural representation of Korea in relation to questions such as class, gender, ethnicity, and body politics. Using diverse texts from literature, film, TV dramas, comics, and pop music, we will examine the social codes, cultural values, and economic realities that influence Korean society, including the Korean diasporic population around the world. In directing our attention to various ways in which Korean culture is transmitted and presented in different media, we will also inquire into historical and social issues rooted in the division of Korea, as well as the international dispersion of Koreans since the colonial period. Through intellectual exercises in boundary crossing, we will ultimately develop our ability to explore the cross-cultural production of trans/national identities in the age of globalization.