This is a course on visual culture in the 20th and 21st century, with a particular focus on the interplay between media technology, culture and society. This course will also be multidisciplinary in nature, as we reflect on our discursive assumptions in the historical, sociological, anthropological, philosophical disciplines among others. While the readings may primarily cover phenomenon in the United States, participants will be strongly encouraged to think of the specificity of the impact of globalization on media and society in various regions of the world including Japan. The course objectives are the following: -Gain a better understanding of the relationships between society, media, people, institutions and how they function as agents of maintaining the status quo or for fostering change -Learn about the transformative faculties and social implications of quotidian applications of technology -Gain deeper understanding of the academic disciplines Topics will include (but are not limited to): -representation of human-computer interaction in culture -regional, transnational and international ecosystems of information technology -artificial intelligence and algorithmic bias -representation of race, ethnicity and gender and other minorities -technological advancement and implementation in everyday life and the powers at play

In this seminar we practice foundational ways of thinking about the complex relationship between technology and society. Participants will pursue their own interests in this field while also engaging with three thematic clusters: AI and Culture, Attention, and Techno-fascism. I chose these themes for their contemporary relevance and their exemplary coverage across three societal sectors: culture, psychology, and politics. As a foundational class of the ITASIA curriculum, the seminar also serves as an introduction to interdisciplinary research. This year, the seminar will use history as an anchor discipline to discuss questions surrounding research methodologies, critical thinking, and academic writing. We will also experiment with ways of using AI that is conducive to your own thinking, research, and career paths. <<Learning Goals>> After successfully completing this seminar, you will: Learning goals: - have a basic understanding of current academic and public debates around the relationship between technology and culture, psychology, and politics - be able to analyze the interplay between digital technologies and society - be familiar with current interdisciplinary approaches and research methods in technology and society using history as an anchor discipine - be able to apply these perspectives to your own research projects and digital content creation

Immerse yourself in the vibrant and evolving field of visual and media ethnography, where theoretical exploration seamlessly intertwines with hands-on application in photography and filmmaking for scientific research. This comprehensive course delves into the nuanced realms of social documentation and cultural examination across global contexts, fostering a deep appreciation for the synergy between research methodologies and artistic expression. Guiding students through a multifaceted learning journey, this course embarks on "mini-fieldwork" expeditions that unravel within the tapestry of everyday life. Armed with cameras and microphones, students adeptly collect audio-visual data, capturing the essence of human experiences in diverse settings. These candid recordings lay the foundation for the creative process that follows. The subsequent stages of the course center around collaborative engagement. Screenings of the collected "rushes" form the basis for insightful group discussions, affording students the opportunity to dissect, critique, and appreciate the diverse array of audio-visual narratives that emerge. These exchanges enrich perspectives and contribute to the refinement of individual projects. Harnessing the raw materials from their fieldwork, students transition into the role of editors, weaving together captured moments into coherent and evocative narratives. This transformative process not only encapsulates the essence of the subject matter but also reflects the intricate dance between filmmaking and context-specific storytelling. As the course draws to a close, participants will have acquired more than the skills to create compelling ethnographic and transcultural documentary films. They will have gained a profound understanding of filmic composition, montage intricacies, and the art of seamless editing. Through meticulously curated film screenings, theoretical insights will further elucidate the foundational principles that underscore impactful visual storytelling. Ultimately, graduates of this course will emerge as skillful visual ethnographer and filmmaker of thought-provoking ethnographic documentaries. Armed with the ability to leverage their collected audio-visual materials, they will weave narratives that resonate with authenticity. Simultaneously, they will possess the discernment to critically analyze and appreciate the nuances of film construction, propelling them into the ranks of skilled visual storytellers with a comprehensive and holistic understanding of their craft. Learning Goals: By the end of the course, students will have the skills to: •Display a fundamental understanding of theory and methodology in visual and media ethnography. •Competently employ a video camera as a tool for comprehensive fieldwork research. •Proficiently edit ethnographic and documentary films to convey impactful narratives. •Articulate the intricate connections between filmic narratives and distinct socio-cultural milieus. •Thoroughly prepare for supervised editing processes, organize systematic workflows, and infuse personal creativity to elevate storytelling prowess through the video medium.

- to grasp the concept/nature of globalisation and its governance - to understand the variety of global issues and conflicts involved in them - to explore the cooperative ways in which to mitigate/settle/solve those conflicts

Course Description This seminar aims to introduce and analyze the political history of Taiwan and the Cross-Strait relations, or relations across the Taiwan Strait. It will seek to identify core issues in Taiwan and the Cross-Strait relations from dimensions of history, politics, economy, international relations, and regional security. The main requirement for this seminar is a 20-minute research presentation and paper writing on a topic to be agreed upon in consultation with the instructor. Students are requested to read the required readings beforehand and post short comments (including questions within 200 words) of them at UTOL one day before the class. All the students who are interested in politics and international relations in East Asia are welcome. Lecture, presentation, discussion, and paper-writing are done in English.

Media Design is an exciting and relatively new discipline within the wider context of design. In it researchers and practitioners are interested in exploring new ways to use and deploy digital media technologies to have function, communicate information or present artwork. Designers from a Media Design background often work on or with web design, e-books, data-bases, big data visualisation, smartphone applications, film, animations, digital imaging, art installations, technology products and many other artefacts and systems. Such designers create their ideas utilising digital or electronic formats and the intention is often that the work is created from scratch to be accessed on a digital platform. This course is a first step introduction to Media Design, it is not intended to be a comprehensive class but rather a short and intense introduction to some processes and skills and you may wish to continue your exploration of this discipline in other classes or studies. This is not a heavy lecture based course but rather a seminar, discussion, and hands-on practical class where you will do a lot of learning by doing. You will be working in teams a lot and each week there will be a subject to discuss, learn and try.

This course is designed to help each student who has no or little technical background to acquire basic knowledge, skills, and self-confidence which are necessary to live as a responsible citizen in this information age and to have a foundation for better understand of problems in modern Asian societies that are increasingly dependent on information and communication technologies. Recent advancement of smartphones, AI, and various cloud services has made it much easier to use the fruits of these technologies, but to use them appropriately and securely, it is essential to understand the underlying technologies and systems that are not directly visible. This course aims to deepen this understanding through lectures accompanied by hands-on sessions.

This lecture series provides an overview of what the academic genre of ethnography has achieved over the past century or so. Although ethnographic monographs have also been written by scholars of various disciplines, this lecture series focuses on sociocultural anthropologists’ endeavors. Rather than discussing the possibilities and limitations of ethnography abstractly, the aim of this course is to provide a perspective on what an ethnography have (and have not) accomplished, by critically introducing two or three ethnographic monographs each time, many but not all of which are on Asia, both locating them in academic and social contexts of the time and and relating them to various ongoing debates.

This seminar is a practical introduction to anthropological methods such as participant observation and qualitative interviews. The bulk of the semester will be devoted to working through James P. Spradley’s Participant Observation and The Ethnographic Interview. From these texts, students will learn the practical skills that they need to conduct fieldwork. Students will apply these skills in identifying a field site, opening it and conducting participant observation and ethnographic interviews. They will write up field notes and bring them to class to present to their peers, who will ask questions and make suggestions about the content. Students will learn to code their notes, identify nodes and work through data to formulate and advance solid, grounded arguments.

• Demonstrate a clear grasp of the core concepts, such as globalisation, Anthropocene, planetarity or earth, and contending definitions of them. • Distinguish between the economic, political, cultural, sociological, philosophical and ethical dimensions of these notions and articulate an analytic understanding of how they interact. • Analyse and identify the ways in which human and non-human actors attempt to reverse or modify ongoing global and planetary processes. • Appreciate the normative dimension of the state of the earth and what it takes to change it. • Critically engage different philosophical arguments about the ethical desirability of possible futures.