11:15A-12:30P   MW   MJ 124
6:30P- 9:00P   M    BH 330

The course will begin by providing students with a conceptual overview of
key issues raised by the globalization of media, including questions of
corporate conglomeration, national sovereignty, cultural identity, gender
relations, audience behaviors, and consumerism.  Using examples from
around the world, it will show how global and local forces interact,
creating new cultural dynamics that are distinctive to the digital era of
forces interact, creating new cultural dynamics that are distinctive to
the digital era of film, television, and other mass media. The second part
of the course will focus in-depth on Hong Kong media, more specifically,
on Hong Kong cinema, which is one of the most productive film industries
in the world. We will examine the history of this cinema as it emerged out
of the turbulent cross-currents of political, economic, and social change
in East Asia. Throughout the semester we will screen numerous exemplary
films and discuss the social and cultural context of their production and
reception, showing how this local cinema has survived, and prospered in
the face of powerful nationalizing and globalizing forces. Careful
analysis of such films as Private Eyes, Autumn Moon, and Heroic Trio will
in turn help us come to grips with many of the key conceptual questions
raised earlier in the semester.

This is an introductory course that presumes no prior knowledge of media
studies, culture industries, film criticism, globalization research, 20th
century world history, or Chinese studies. Hopefully, by the end of the
semester, students will have developed solid familiarity with all of these
areas.

The class will function as a seminar, involving brief presentations and
extensive class discussion. Prospective participants should also
anticipate a substantial number of reading and writing assignments, since
the course is offered for honors credit and intensive writing credit.