Cool new Asia : experiencing East Asian popular culture
Date
2012Citation:
Wilson, S. (2012). Cool new Asia: Experiencing East Asian popular culture. [Unpublished Unitec Research Committee Research Report].Permanent link to Research Bank record:
https://hdl.handle.net/10652/1881Abstract
Cool New Asia: East Asian Popular Culture in a Local Context was held at Unitec during the weekend of November 25-26th. The symposium attracted two international keynote speakers (Professor Koichi Iwabuchi and Professor Matt Allen), twenty-six speakers from both national and international tertiary environments and approximately one hundred and twenty attendees over the two days.
The papers delivered covered a range of disciplines and theoretical approaches and, as was hoped, reflected a broad interdisciplinary examination, from across the humanities, of ideas pertaining to popular culture in general, Asian popular culture (of a variety of forms), in particular, and other issues related to these two including population diaspora, second-language education, representation and self-representation, and community construction, location and relocation as a result of globalisation.
The weekend delivered a number of highlights; of these, the cultural performances by Madang Hannuri (a Korean performance troupe), the E-Pacs Lion Dance Team, and Hokushin Shinoh Ryu Iaido (a Japanese martial arts troupe) were the most popular and engaging. However, beyond the world of cultural performance, the symposium’s chief success, we believe, was that it (a) successfully identified a hitherto overlooked area of study, (b) provided a forum for a rigorous examination of issues pertaining to these, and (c) offers an opportunity to continue this exploration as the Cool New Asia project moves into its second phase.
This second phase – discussed in the initial application for funding – refers to the manner with which Drs. Kolesova and Wilson are working to develop concrete research outcomes out of the material generated by the symposium. More information about this is provided below.
The symposium organizers wish to extend their enormous gratitude and thanks to the URC committee for making such a successful event possible. We would particularly like to acknowledge the incredible help provided by Brenda Massey.