International Images and Global Communication
Autumn 2014
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 becomes
central in promoting tourism and wider economic advancement.
1.
9/19
Introduction
No readings
Part I: Theorizing images
2.
9/26
A constructivist approach: images as
stereotypes
Pickering, Michael. 2001.
Stereotyping: The Politics of
Representation. New York:
Palgrave. (Chapter 1,2)
3.
10/3
A constructivist approach: images as
stereotypes
Pickering, Michael. 2001.
Stereotyping: The Politics of
Representation. New York:
Palgrave. (Chapter 3,4)
10/10 National Holiday
4.
10/17 Orientalism
Said, Edward W. 1978.
Orientalism. New York:
Penguin Paperbacks.
(Chapter 1: I,II,III)
5.
10/24 Occidentalism
Buruma, Ian and Margalit,
Avishai. 2004. Occidentalism:
The West in the Eyes of Its
Enemies. London: Penguin.
(Chapter 1,2,3)
6.
10/31 Presentation of proposal
Part II: Contextualizing images
7.
11/7
Arab in Western imagination
8.
11/14 China in Western imagination/the
West in Chinese 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)
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.
11/21 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.
11/28 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.
12/5
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.
12/12 Case study: Beijing Olympics 2008 and
UNESCO Creative Cities
1. Xu, X. (2006) “Modernizing
China in the Olympic
spotlight: China's national
identity and the 2008
Beijing Olympiad‘,
Sociological Review, 54(2),
90-107.
2. Ren, X. (2008)
“Architecture and nation
building in the age of
globalization: construction
of the stadium of Beijing
for the 2008 Olympics‘,
Journal of Urban Affairs,
30(2), 175-190.
3. 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.
12/19 Case study presentation
14.
12/26 End of term presentation
15.
1/2
End of term presentation
16.
1/9
End of term presentation
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. Case study presentation
In week 13, please bring to the class a case study (or simply a case example) of
the utilization of images in promoting urban, regional, or national development.
4. Term project
Choose one country, people, or critical 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 a wide
range of readings. You will need to present your preliminary ideas and final
results to the class.