Global Asian Pop Culture

3 units

This course is designed for students interested in cultural forms and practices both within Asia and among Asian immigrant and diasporic communities. Asian popular culture is a global phenomenon. Through the lens of food, music, film, aesthetics, brand characters, and digital media, the course foregrounds the intersections of migration, transnationalism, and cultural consumption in the context of advanced digital technologies and globalization. Each week, we examine the global reach and consumption of specific cultural references (e.g., Bubble Tea, curry, anime, K-drama, Labubu) to explore linkages between Asia and Asian diasporas, migration and transnationalism, youth culture, fandom and soft power, gender, and cultural identity. The course approaches Asian popular culture through the conceptual framework of “Global Asias,” examining Asia not as a fixed geographic region but as a dynamic constellation of cultural, historical, and transnational processes. Ultimately, it encourages students to understand popular culture as a critical lens for examining Asian and Asian diasporic cultures, as well as broader issues of globalization, identity, authenticity, class, and power in the contemporary world.