Communication

Debating skills are a key component of academic life. This means that you should be able to defend your own position and refute opposing positions by providing substantial arguments based on relevant academic sources. In this project, participants prepare, present, and defend with peers a position for an academic debate on a specific topic. The available topics emerge out of a wide range of UCM courses from different concentrations. Students can submit their preferences for topics beforehand but should be prepared to commit to any topic to which they are assigned. At the start of the project, each group discusses their topic and settle on a concrete proposition for their final debate. After that, groups split into a PRO (“yes”) and a CON (“no”) side. The two sides prepare separately for the final debate. A crucial part of the preparation for their final debate is writing a collective position paper based on self-study of academic sources. The purpose of this position paper is to be informed about the topic of the debate, by developing arguments, anticipating counterarguments, and coming up with rebuttals to these counterarguments.

This course introduces contemporary media and popular culture in South Korea along with relevant issues. A primary emphasis will be placed on the ways in which the media express and mediate Korean popular culture. Students learn theoretical concepts and ideas that enable them to understand Korean media and “read” Korean popular culture from academic perspectives. The topics include ownership, diversity, economics, policy, globalization, multiculturalism, Korean Wave, K-pop, film, journalism, broadcasting, among others. Students undertake group research projects and discuss their work in class. 

This course covers the interplay between communication technology and modern culture. The course analyzes, both theoretically and historically, the influence of diverse digital technologies on urban environments, popular culture, and the formation of cultural identities. The course examines the culture of mega-event phenomena with particular reference to the spectacle of modernity. Major events such as international expositions, the Olympics, and the football World Cup have significantly influenced the economic, political, and cultural dimensions of modernity. Students will discuss the impact of mega-events on the development and evolution of national, regional, and global identities, the role of digital technologies in promoting the globalization of modernity, and the influence of mega-events on urban space. Alongside an exploration of mega-event experiences in Europe and East Asia, the course also focuses on the historical context of mega-events in South Korea. In doing so, this course enhances students’ critical analytical skills regarding the political economics of media culture.