This course introduces students to aspects of the fascinating realm of popular culture in East Asia. Students learn about major theoretical paradigms in cultural studies, and how they may apply to developments in East Asian popular culture in the past and present. Emphasis is placed on what drives the consumption of popular culture, and whether that consumption can be argued to represent resistance. Case studies are drawn from, among others, advertising, cinema, toys, comics, gadgets, fashion, pop music, sports, and social media in mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, and North and South Korea, with a slight emphasis on the latter.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Understand the socio-cultural conditions that have nurtured pop culture in East Asia;
2. Apply popular theoretical concepts in cultural studies;
3. Demonstrate an understanding of what nurtures consumption and fandom;
4. Develop coherent analytical arguments both orally and in writing;
5. Discuss key features of East Asian popular culture.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Written comments
• Verbal comments
• Feedback to the whole class, to groups, to individuals, focus groups

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	course overview: assessment, definitions, and theoretical paradigms.
2	collecting feats and toys.
3	subcultures, pseudo-individualism, and memes.	Selfeature is due this week.
4	neoliberalism and shopping.	Critical review is due this week.
5	photography and advertising.
6	fandom in pop and pro wrestling.	Mini exam will take place this week.
7	orientalism, self-orientalism, and mukokuseki.
8	tourism and post-tourism, and authenticity.
9	third places.	Short essay is due this week.
10	fashion, cuteness, and new masculinities.
11	selling pop and "real music".
12	gaming and flow.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Participation	10 %	*	03/06/2026	1,2,3,4,5
Selfeature	10 %	12/03/2026	19/03/2026	1,2
Mini exam	15 %	02/04/2026	21/04/2026	1,4
Critical review	15 %	17/03/2026	24/03/2026	1,2,3
Short essay	20 %	05/05/2026	12/05/2026	1,2,3
Final exam	30 %	19/06/2026	30/06/2026	1,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Participation

Students earn 10% by actively participating in the discussions.

Assessment Task 2

Selfeature

Students must submit a short 3-minute video (in mp4, mov., mpeg or m4v format) in which they discuss in what way — career aspirations, sartorial style, pets, hobby, etc. — they are (or are not) driven by past or current developments in popular culture: the less obvious the answer, the more interesting it can be. It may be helpful to carefully consider what is commonly defined as popular culture. You can certainly use slides, but you must appear and present the ideas yourself. Referring to literature can enhance the quality, but please do not upload more than the one video file. Content (ideas) matters most, but a very fun/cool submission will earn you extra points.

NB: All late submissions will be penalised by 5% of the maximum score per 24 hours (so if you hand it in late by 1 hour, you lose 5%; if you hand it in 23 hours late, you still lose 5%; if you hand it in 25 hours late, you lose 10%, etc.).

Rubric

creativity	relevance	structure
30	60	10

Assessment Task 3

Mini exam

In this 45-minute in-person exam, conducted during the week 6 tutorial, students are asked 10 questions to test the knowledge they have gained/developed from the readings of week 1 to 6, and the weekly lectures and tutorials of weeks 1 to 5. 

Assessment Task 4

Critical review

students write a 1,250-word critical review based on any of the 12 (weekly) sets of readings: please write about the two readings together and try to compare them a little, though emphasising one a little more than the other is fine (a balance of 60/40% is certainly acceptable). Very good advice can be found here. Please use Harvard or Chicago for referencing. 

NB: All late submissions will be penalised by 5% of the maximum score per 24 hours (so if you hand it in late by 1 hour, you lose 5%; if you hand it in 23 hours late, you still lose 5%; if you hand it in 25 hours late, you lose 10%, etc.).

Rubric

critical engagement	framework and structure	presentation (incl. style & referencing)
40	30	30

Assessment Task 5

Short essay

Students write a 1,250-word essay on any aspect of East Asian popular culture from before the year 2000 while also referring to something discussed in the course. It is important you first check the topic with your lecturer and have it approved. An essay that was not approved will earn 0 points. You may use sources in languages other than English, as long as ± 75% of your sources are English-language ones. Please use Harvard or Chicago for referencing. 

NB: All late submissions will be penalised by 5% of the maximum score per 24 hours (so if you hand it in late by 1 hour, you lose 5%; if you hand it in 23 hours late, you still lose 5%; if you hand it in 25 hours late, you lose 10%, etc.).

Rubric

critical engagement	relevance	framework and structure	presentation (incl. style & referencing)
30	20	30	20

Assessment Task 6

Final exam

In this 90-minute in-person exam students are asked 20 questions to test the knowledge they have gained/developed from the readings of week 1 to 10, and the weekly lectures and tutorials of weeks 1 to 12. 

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information. In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service — including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy. If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes. Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students