In what ways has popular culture helped address, confront and shift social issues
This is a major research essay assignment and students should take care to begin researching for their essays well before deadline. A list of essay topics will be provided on the LMS. Marking criteria will include the following parts:
Quality of introduction and conclusion
Use of relevant sources
Critical analysis and discussions built of a clear argument/statement
Originality
Structure and organisation (make sure you have an introduction that sets out the question and how you plan to address it; the main body of the essay – possibly divided into chapters or sections with subheadings; and a solid conclusion where you present an overview of your findings and address the essay question)
Referencing
Prose style and language – make sure you write in academic English. Avoid using bullet points (even if I have used the here!), colloquial language (“I’ve”, “This is 4u”) and incomplete sentences in academic essays.
Choose one of the following questions, and answer with reference to specific case studies from one or two countries or regions in Asia:
(NOTE: Your essay should be 2000 words (i.e. +/- 10%; 1800 – 2200 words) long {excluding reference list} – do NOT use footnotes/endnotes to add to the word count, they will just be ignored and not add to the grade you receive for this assignment)
undefined
IMPORTANT: DO NOT CHANGE THESE ESSAY QUESTIONS (e.g. question 2 cannot be simplified to \”Beauty in Asia\”). YOU SHOULD QUOTE THEM AS BELOW AT THE START OF YOUR ESSAY AND ENSURE THAT YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION AS IT IS LAID OUT BELOW.
In what ways has popular culture helped address, confront and shift social issues (e.g. politics, sexuality, human rights, and environment) in Asia? How effective is its approach and what are its limitations? Support your answer with at least one specific example of relevant popular culture text (films, TV programs, music etc) in an Asian culture. Make sure to explain how the social/political/cultural context of that country supports your argument.
Does being beautiful/attractive in Asian popular culture mean being \’White\’ or \’Western\’? Using specific examples from at least two different Asian countries to illustrate your answer, and consider whether prevalent beauty ideals in contemporary Asian popular culture can be seen as evidence of ‘Westernisation’ or ’Whitening’ of Asian beauty aesthetics more broadly in the context of the countries you have chosen to discuss. (Make sure to base your argument here on evidence, not on personal opinion. Avoid also writing long discussions about Asian beauty cultures in the pre-modern times unless you can show evidence that these are still relevant to popular culture in Asia today.)
Can Asian popular culture produced for commercial profit (such as TV dramas or pop music) be said to function as a tool for ‘soft power’ (as Joseph Nye defines it) for nation states? If so, how, and to what extent? Give examples to support your argument, and realistically consider the limits and possibilities of popular culture impacting ‘hard’ international politics.
Can celebrities (or “idols”) have a social function beyond simple entertainment? Critically discuss what role of celebrities and fandom can be said to play in contemporary society beyond being entertainers. Use one or two specific examples in Asia to support your argument.
Consider how Asian popular culture might demonstrate processes of regional integration and influence. How, for example, might Asian popular culture help connect countries and regions in Asia and beyond, through promoting cultural similarities, shared values, or raising cultural profiles? Or does Asian pop culture instead show evidence of a broader globalisation, beyond the Asian region? Use one or two specific examples to support your argument.
A FEW POINTERS BEFORE YOU START WRITING:
Please note that your essay mark is not determined simply by the calculated average of the individual section marks, and you main focus should always be on presenting a critical and well thought-out argument to merit a higher mark. While you will not be graded for grammar, please proofread your essay carefully to ensure that poor level of linguistic expression does not make your argument unclear. Originality is good, but unsupported opinions carry little weight in academic writing.
There are no hard and set rigid rules as to what constitutes a good essay, as styles and approaches to writing an essay can vary. However, a good essay will consist of good arguments (backed by relevant evidence and examples which are fully referenced) all which build toward a solid conclusion). An introduction should set out to explain what the essay will discuss and how. The main body of the essay should put forward solid, well thought-out arguments, ideally with some intermediate conclusions. A good conclusion will pull all the points put across in the main body of the essay together, and develops a solid conclusion based on the intermediate conclusions. A good essay, in short, is one therefore that argues a point convincingly whist avoiding excessive repetition, so that each argument put forward will push the argument forward toward a solid well-executed and supported conclusion.
All essays should have a bibliography which gives full details of the sources cited in the main body of the essay. Occasionally students wonder how many sources they should cite. For that I would say that it really is not about the quantity but the quality that counts. Make sure that most of your sources are from reputable peer-reviewed journals or academic publications. Wikipedia, blogs, news articles (although sometimes useful) and opinion pieces are not peer reviewed. University of Victoria’s University Library offers a good definition of peer reviewed as follows:
Peer-reviewed articles have been evaluated by several researchers or subject specialist in the academic community prior to accepting it for publication, also known as scholarly or refereed. (See more at: http://libanswers.uvic.ca/a.php?qid=79020).
Requirements: 2000 words
Answer preview to in what ways has popular culture helped address, confront and shift social issues
APA
2301 words
Get instant access to the full solution from yourhomeworksolutions by clicking the purchase button below
