International Images and Global Communication
Autumn 2015
Course objectives
This course aims to examine how images are constructed, received, and utilized in a
cross-border context. Upon completing the course, students will be familiar with theories of
images, stereotypes, and constructed reality. They will also be trained to apply such theories
to concrete cases in various scenarios, including businesses, social enterprises, and
governments at all levels.
Course description
Part I of this course offers an in-depth discussion of theories of images and constructed
reality. Part II examines theories in an international context. It highlights the cases of China
and Islam and examines/problematizes their images in the Western world. Part III discusses
the ways in which theories of international image construction could be utilized in urban,
regional, and national development. It includes two case studies where branding nations,
regions, and cities become central in promoting tourism and wider economic advancement.
1.
9/18
Introduction
No readings
Part I: Theorizing images
2.
9/25
A constructivist approach: images as
Pickering, Michael. 2001.
stereotypes
Stereotyping: The Politics of
Representation. New York:
Palgrave. (Chapter 1,2)
3.
10/2
A constructivist approach: images as
Pickering, Michael. 2001.
stereotypes
Stereotyping: The Politics of
Representation. New York:
Palgrave. (Chapter 3,4)
4.
10/9
National Holiday
10/16
Orientalism
Said, Edward W. 1978.
Orientalism. New York: Penguin
Paperbacks. (Chapter 1: I,II,III)
5.
10/23
Occidentalism
Buruma, Ian and Margalit,
Avishai. 2004. Occidentalism:
The West in the Eyes of Its
Enemies. London: Penguin.
(Chapter 1,2,3)
6.
10/30
Presentation of proposal
Part II: Contextualizing images
7.
11/6
Arab in Western imagination
Ben-Shaul, Nitzan (2006) A
Violent World: TV News Images
of Middle Eastern Terror and
War. New York: Rowman &
Littlefield.
(Chapter 3,4,5,6)
8.
11/13
China in Western imagination/the West in
Chinese imagination
1. Jacques, M. (2009) When
China rules the world: the
end of the western world
and the birth of the new
global order, London:
Penguin Books (Chapter
1,2,3,7).
*also available in Chinese
2. Zhang, Longxi (1988) “The
myth of the other: China in
the eyes of the West”,
Critical Inquiry 15(1):
108-131.
9.
11/20
Inter-racial image construction: a gender
perspective
1. Knowles, Caroline and
Alexander, Claire,
eds. 2005. Making Race
Matter: Bodies, Space and
Identity. London: Palgrave
Macmillan. (Chapter2, 8)
2. Darling-Wolf, Fabienne
(2003) “Media, class, and
Western influence in
Japanese women’s
conceptions of
attractiveness”, Feminist
Media Studies 3(2):
153-172.
3. Darling-Wolf, Fabienne
(2004) “Sites of
attractiveness: Japanese
women and westernized
representations of feminine
beauty”, Critical Studies in
Media Communication
21(4): 325-345.
Part III: Utilizing images
10.
11/27
Branding cities, regions, and nations
Anholt, Simon. 2007.
Competitive Identity: The New
Brand Management for
Nations, Cities and Regions.
[Electronic resource]
Houndmills, Basingtoke,
Hampshire: Palgrave
Macmillan. (Chapter 1,2,3,4)
11.
12/4
Branding cities, regions, and nations
Anholt, Simon. 2007.
Competitive Identity: The New
Brand Management for
Nations, Cities and Regions.
[Electronic resource]
Houndmills, Basingtoke,
Hampshire: Palgrave
Macmillan. (Chapter 5,6)
12.
12/11
Case study: UNESCO Creative Cities
1. Evans, G. (2009) “Creative
cities, creative spaces and
urban policy”, Urban
Studies 46(5-6): 1003-1040.
2. Bolognani, Marta (2012)
“Good culture, bad
culture……no culture! The
implications of culture in
urban regeneration in
Bradford, UK”, Critical Social
Policy 32(4): 618-635.
13.
12/18
End of term presentation
14.
12/25
End of term presentation
1/1
National Holiday
1/8
Write-up and submission
15.
Assessments:
Presentations 40%
Class participation 20%
Term paper 40%
Course requirements
1. Reading presentation
Each student is required to choose ONE week when s/he will outline and present to the
class the assigned reading of the week.
2. Summary, critiques, and images
Every week, students are expected to bring to the class a short summary of the reading,
their own critiques of the reading, and some images or examples of the topic. This could
be in the form of short written works or you could just speak up and tell us what you
think during class discussion.
3. Term project
Choose one country, people, or international event and base your term paper on the
image(s) of it. It could be based on empirical data you collect. It could also be an
argument emerging from the synthesis and critiques of wider readings. You will need to
present your preliminary ideas and final results to the class.