HL4009 Popular Literature and Culture
Aug 2013 Semester (Tentative description – may be modified)
(Class Lecturer: C. J. W.-L. Wee)
Description
This module will introduce the changes from the study of ‘literature and culture’ to the study of
‘culture’ more broadly defined – when ‘literary-cultural studies’ become the more general (and
oftentimes less-literary) study of ‘popular’ and/or ‘mass culture’. The module will examine three key
terms: ‘high culture’, ‘mass culture’ and ‘popular culture’.
Since the 1970s, scholars in literature and some sociologists have expanded the range of
cultural texts that can be studied, apart from established, high-cultural literary & other artistic texts.
We begin by examining the differences between the terms ‘high culture’ (e.g., literature and other
forms of ‘serious’ cultural achievement, e.g., music, theatre), ‘mass culture’ (youth-oriented pop
music, Hollywood films) and ‘popular culture’ (sub-cultures or counter-cultures, often political
and/or social in orientation) and assess the debates about the value of cultural texts that are not of
high cultural origins. Questions such as the following will arise:
 How are literature and other cultural products such as film, TV and (increasingly, since the
1960s) commercial pop/youth culture related to a consumerist society?
 What is the relevance of ‘serious art’ that analyses life’s big issues to a world that – in Singapore
& East Asia – thinks more of Chinese TV dramas, Korean boy/girl bands and dance clubs?
 How are sub- and counter-cultural practices attempts to form ‘alternative identities’?
The question of popular culture as a political response by youths using new social-networking
technology against capitalist and state oppression will also be considered.
The module concludes with an ‘applied’ section. We may examine contemporary J-pop or Kpop culture as an example of mass culture, though we will make some references to other East Asian
pop culture, more ‘alternative’ Western European cultural productions and at least one TV drama.
We then look at the late Kuo Pao Kun’s ‘high-cultural’ play, The Spirits Play (1999). The play asks:
Can Man really ever be free of a world in which the state has a say in who he/she is, on what national
identity should be? Finally, we will study a contemporary ‘pop’ novel, Tan Hwee Hwee’s Mammon
Inc. (which deals with a 20something Singapore woman’s surrender to global cultural exploitation).
Texts
The readings will be in the form of photocopies/PDFs and one DVD to be viewed. We will also look
at two literary works.
Class Requirements
 One (1) class presentation (5%), each student, either singly or in groups; the presentations will be
based upon the readings.
1. Summarise & introduce the central argument of the reading (summarise to make clear what the
main ideas are), for about 10 mins or so; and then students are to bring their own interests and/or
responses to the material (agree? Disagree? Partially agree? Illustrations of the analysis, etc.) to
the presentation. The presentation should be limited to 15 mins for single students and a max. of
25 mins for group presentation. Time limits must be adhered to.
2. There is no need to consult with the lecturer on the presentation in advance unless you wish it.
3. Student presenters can take into account class outlines that will be posted in advance for their
presentation but should not feel constrained or limited by the outline.
4. Pls do make a hard copy for the lecturer and give it to me on the morning of the presentation.
 One (1) short in-class writing assignment (10%) of a critically reflective nature, rather than
‘exam-style’. Dates in the revised schedule; no preparation is required for this – just know your
material & be prepared to apply it. Students must not miss the in-class assignment, or the days
you are making a presentation, as marks are involved.
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One (1) final written assignment of between 1,800-2,000 words (35%). Format: doubled-spaced
& with either MLA or Chicago Manual of Style format for documentation. Topics will be offered
but students can devise their own topic.
A final examination (50%). Format: Three (3) questions to be chosen from a range of options; but
no compulsory question, no separate sections.
Class Format
 General teaching format: 1) begins with student presentation; 2) seminar format thereafter,
following in general a topic outline that will be mounted on Edventure in advance of the class
meeting (students can download this; there will be no PowerPoint); 3) there be some small group
discussion as well, as student opinion is important.
 Students should feel free to raise questions in the class (disagree; agree; contest or just seek
clarification) – there really will be no such thing as a ‘stupid’ question, note. Student
responses/thoughts are vital & critical learning moments for the individual & the entire class. In
general pls be bold to ask questions in class: individual meetings cannot become individual
tutorial sessions – that’s unfair to the class as a whole.
 It is unrealistic to expect a private tutorial form the lecturer during consultation meetings.
Consultations
 Do make an appointment in advance: cjwlwee@ntu.edu.sg or phone no. 6592 1569. Each meeting
will last about 20 mins – pls request in advance if you think more time is necessary.
 Do come in with a specific question or questions in mind for best use of time.
Readings
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F. R. Leavis, ‘Valuation in criticism’, ‘Thought, meaning and sensibility: The problem of value
judgement’ (chapters from Leavis, Valuation in Criticism and Other Essays, ed. G. Singh).
F. R. Leavis, ‘Hard Times [the Charles Dickens’ novel]: An analytic note’, last chapter from Leavis,
The Great Tradition.
Raymond Williams, Communications (selection).
Theodor W. Adorno, ‘Culture Industry Reconsidered’ (chapter from Adorno’s The Culture Industry).
John Clarke, Stuart Hall, Tony Jefferson & Brian Roberts, ‘Subcultures, cultures and class’; and Stuart
Hall & Tony Jefferson, ‘Once more around Resistance through Rituals’, chapters in Stuart Hall and
Tony Jefferson (eds), Resistance through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain.
Paul Maon, Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere: The New Global Revolutions (selection). HM876 M411
Quadrophenia (1979), dir. Franc Roddam. Selections to be played in class, but the film should be
viewed in its entirety before the class. See: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079766/. It is up to students
whether you wish only to watch the material in the library or buy your own copy. This material is
examinable and will form part of the final exam paper:
Copy material location: Business Library
PN1995.9.Y6Q1q DISCS 1-2 1 DVD AV Reserves (Service Desk)
circ rule: Circulates for 4 hours only
Note: NON-CIRCULATING. Reserved for class use only.
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Paul Willis, ‘Symbolic Creativity’, from Studying Culture
Hwee Hwee Tan, Mammon Inc. (London: Penguin, 2002).
Kuo Pao Kun, The Spirits Play – in Two Plays by Kuo Pao Kun: Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral
and the Spirits Play, eds. C. J. W.-L. Wee and Lee Chee Keng (S’pore: SNP Editions, 2002). Or in The
Complete Works of Kuo Pao Kun, vol. 4: Plays in English, ed. C.J.W.-L. Wee (The Theatre Practice &
Global Publishing, 2012).
Note:
1. The readings will either be made available through copies for photocopying or as PDF files for downloading
through Blackboard/Edventure. The Kuo play and the Tan novel must be purchased.
2. Students are expected to read the critical readings with some care – sort of line-by-line understanding should
be clear.
Revised Schedule, Readings and Topics
MEETING ONE:
Introduction:
Key issues for the module: ‘high’, ‘mass’ and ‘popular’ culture.
MEETING TWO:
F. R. Leavis: ‘Valuation in criticism’ (essay); and ‘Thought, meaning and sensibility: The problem of value
judgment’ (essay).
Issues: The ‘mission’ of English; scientific/technological society and the problem of (organic or more ‘natural’)
culture; literature as ‘high cultural’ criticism – for Leavis, as a way of thinking about modern industrial life and
society; the standards of high cultural achievement; linguistic expression, literary criticism and critical thinking.
MEETING THREE:
Leavis, cont’d. Chapter 5 from Leavis, The Great Tradition, ‘Hard Times’.
Issue: What does an application of Leavis’s principles of criticism look like in practice?
Introduction to Raymond Williams, Communications (selection).
Issues: High culture and mass culture – culture as ‘everyday’ experience; literature and other forms of the
‘expression’ of culture; mass culture and mass media; culture as ‘communication’; communication practices and
the market
MEETING FOUR:
Williams, cont’d.
MEETING FIVE:
Theodor W. Adorno, ‘Culture Industry Reconsidered’ (one chapter in a book), in The Culture Industry: Selected
Essays on Mass Culture.
Issues: Rationality and the economic instrumentalisation of culture: mass culture as mass deception – emphasis
on film; the homogenisation of culture; the critical and Enlightenment capacity of high culture vs. the debased
values of the culture industry
MEETING SIX:
Paul Willis, ‘Symbolic Creativity’ (essay).
Issues: Mass and popular culture culture, social identity and values in the daily life of less-privileged youths;
youth rituals and resistance against the ‘mainstream’; youth consumption, culture and resistance.
So, how is all this work out and is related to us? (‘Applied’ section of the module I)
MEETING SEVEN:
Quadrophenia (1979), director Franc Roddam, a film about Mods & also Rockers set in 1964, the year of the
famous between the two sub-cultural youth groups in Brighton, in southern England. (Based on a musical that
was written by The Who, a famous English group who were Mods.) DVD on order for the Media Library.
Issues: Mass and popular culture; social identity and values in daily life of less-privileged youths; youth rituals
and resistance against the’ mainstream’; youth consumption, culture and resistance – application of Willis.
MEETING EIGHT:
John Clarke, Stuart Hall, Tony Jefferson & Brian Roberts, ‘Subcultures, cultures and class’ (book chapter).
Issues: (Issues continue from the Willis reading.) The post-Second World War War emergence of ‘youth culture’
as a category; youth sub-cultures; youth, style, consumption and resistance
MEETING NINE:
Clarke et al., cont’d.
Supplementary reading (can be used for exam purposes, but is not compulsory reading): Stuart Hall and Tony
Jefferson, ‘Once more around Resistance through Rituals’ (book chapter).
MEETING TEN:
Paul Mason (chaps. 1, 2, 3 & 4 of Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere), inc. Guardian Weekly news article (16 Dec
2011), ‘Meet the Networked Revolution’
Issues: Political culture as popular culture – democratic culture from ‘below’, the people, not the state; new
social media as enabling popular culture
Applied Section II
MEETING ELEVEN (no student presentations):
General consideration of the emergence of an East Asian mass culture – apart from Cantonese or MandarinChinese mass culture – that crosses national and linguistic borders since the early 1990s: the unexpected
emergence of J-dramas, J-pop, K-dramas and K-pop and its relation to a lager middle class in East and Southeast
Asia.
Also: some consideration of youth culture in Singapore.
Note: Day of in-class assignment. No advanced prep required, though some opinions of the general readings by
now would be an advantage.
Applied Section III
MEETING TWELVE:
Issues for Kuo and Tan: Comparative thinking about the ‘high-cultural’ literary-dramatic text and a text that
incorporates mass culture and consumer culture, and the high-cultural representation of society and cultural
identity.
Kuo Pao Kun, The Spirits Play.
Issue: Is Spirits Play a high-cultural text? Focus: The problem of identity; the exploitation of culture and cultural
identity by the nation-state.
Applied Section IV
MEETING THIRTEEN:
Hwee Hwee Tan, Mammon Inc.
Issue: Is Mammon Inc. a high-cultural text? Or else how else can we think of it? Focus: The hip and the high
cultural in the present state of global cultural development; the exploitation of culture and cultural identity for a
multicultural capitalism.
Review of module.