亞際文化研究導論

The aim of this seminar is to orient students toward re-thinking the problematics of Inter-Asia Cultural Studies (IACS). Bearing in mind the complex relations and geopolitics of East/Southeast and South Asian societies, this seminar delimits its scope in order to foreground the questions and formations of present conditions, particularly the residues colonial past and the process of decolonization, the Cold War regime and the post-Cold War aftermath, the decline of Pax Americana and the shuffling of new powers as well as new tensions in the age of globalization and neoliberalism. This course will also address several fundamental questions: “What is Cultural Studies?” “What is the objectives of Inter-Asia Cultural Studies?” “Is there any particular disciplinary methodology or theoretical framework that we need to adopt in doing Inter-Asia cultural Studies?” Questions such as race, class, nation, gender, migration, border, or modernity, capitalism, neoliberalism, cannot be dealt with through any conventional disciplinary. Also, the inter-connectedness of historical processes in this area obliges Inter-Asia Cultural Studies to go beyond national boundaries. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies therefore needs to be transdisciplinary and transnational. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies would not take “Inter-Asia” as a totality of any pre-existing entity to retrieve or a future utopia to arrive at, but as an emergent mode of complex perspective, acknowledging the inter-relational conflicts and tensions in the past histories that have left their traces and are still functioning in contemporary societies. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies also needs to be improvisational and critical so as to expose and to dismantle the logic of socio-cultural formation behind the scene that is still shaping the uneven and unequal partitions within the societies.

(1) Students are expected to complete all assigned readings, participate in the discussion, and punctually submit bi-weekly two-page responses, in addition to taking turns to lead and facilitate discussion in the class. (2) Students can form study groups (3-4 people per group) for the presentation of to lead discussions. The group in charge of the presentation are expected to provide additional materials on contemporary conditions, artistic works and film clips to facilitate the discussion. (3) Students are required to submit a final project in one of the forms listed below. Final project proposals (1-2 pages to clarify your idea and direction) must be submitted by November 27, 2016 for discussion and approval. The final project is due on January 8, 2018, the last meeting of the class for the oral presentation. A. a research paper (minimum 10 double-spaced pages) on a chosen topic related to the concerns of the course; B. a proposal for an activist, collaborative project that applies what you learned in class to social issues, such as an artistic installment, a photo essay, or a documentary; C. a project proposal with a 3-page statement and an annotated bibliography (20 titles minimum, building toward clarifying a research topic related to the general concerns of this course) with explanations of its rationale (in 3-5 pages). Bi-Weekly Response: 50% Participation/Discussion: 20% Final Project: 30%

*Important text or must read. + Selective reading. *必讀或重要著作;+選讀或參考著作 All assigned readings can be accessed through NCTU’s E-Campus: https://e3.nctu.edu.tw/NCTU_EASY_E3P/LMS2/tea_course_index.aspx