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Association for Asian Studies

COTSEAL Panel

Thursday, March 26, 20097:30-9:30 p.m. – Ontario Rm.

Sheraton Chicago

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Panelists

John Hartmann, Organizer (NIU): Introduction

Teddy Bofman (NEIU): Thai Pop Songs and Tools to Manage Them for Language and Culture Competency

Yupphan Hoonchamlong (UH): Integrating Pop Culture and Digital Media in Language Learning for Gen-Y, “the Digital Natives”

Frank Smith (UCB): Ninjas, Ladyboys, and Seven-Word Meter:  Using Western Pop Culture and Khmer Popular Theater to Teach the Modern Cambodian Novel  

Piyathida Sereebenjapol (NIU): The Korean Craze among Thai Urban Youth: Thai Culture in Transition

Payungsak Kaenchan (Mahidol U):Thai Comics: Pop Culture Themes for Learner Competency

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Discussants:

Dr. Carol J. Compton

Dr. Rosarin Adulseranee

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The Contribution of Pop Culture toForeign Language and Culture Competency:

Examples from Thailand and Cambodia

Sponsored by COTSEAL

AAS 2009 MeetingChicago

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What is Pop Culture?

Popular culture (or pop culture) is the totality of distinct memes*, ideas, perspectives and attitudes that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture.

*a cultural trait that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means, such as imitation.

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Heavily influenced by mass media (at least from the early 20th century on) and perpetuated by that culture's vernacular language, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of the society.

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Popular culture needs to be trivial and "dumbed-down" by definition in order to find consensual acceptance throughout the mainstream.

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Popular culture often contrasts with a more exclusive, even elitist "high culture", that is, the culture of ruling social groups.

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The earliest use of "popular" in English was during the fifteenth century in law and politics, meaning "low", "base", "vulgar", and "of the common people" 'til the late eighteenth century by which time it began to mean "widespread" and gain in positive connotation.

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However, many works straddle or cross the boundaries e.g. William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens or

in Asia, the Ramayana

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Rama

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So he turned to Hanuman and gave him orders. "You who have magnificent magical power in battle, carry the message. Go to the beautiful woman. Explain to her that I will follow." While saying this, he grasped the ring and the Queen’s royal breast cloth.

-from the Ramakian, an example of elite,court language and culture.

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Southern ThaiNang Talung

A leather shadowpuppet of Rama

…An example oflocalized, popularizedculture

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http://www.seasite.niu.edu:85/thai/Sikaeo/nangtalung/s02.mpg

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Cultures and Languages diffuse across “boundaries”

India to Southeast Asia Korea to Thailand West to East

and East to West.

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Values and attitudes become indigenized and popularized.

They reflect what is seen, heard, and done in daily life.

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As a foreign language learner, it is critical to be able access the popular forms of a language and culture in order to become fully competent and to be able to participate optimally in the host society.

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As foreign language teachers, we can exploit multimedia, interactive technologies that are readily available to assist the learner.

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Internet/WebPower Point

CondordancesWord Frequencies

Online dictionaries You Tube

Print Comics

Video clipsmp3 downloads

Podcasts

…and so on

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Thank You