Educational objectives Educational Objectives
The course Korean Pop-Culture (CIVIS–KF Korean Studies E-School Consortium) aims to provide an interdisciplinary analysis of contemporary South Korean popular culture, with particular emphasis on the phenomenon known as the Korean Wave (Hallyu). The teaching objectives are as follows:
To outline the historical development of popular music and the entertainment industry in South Korea, examining the transition from locally oriented productions to the transnational success achieved in recent decades.
To provide the methodological foundations of Cultural Studies in order to analyze the active role of the South Korean state in soft power strategies and nation branding policies.
To situate cultural production (K-pop, cinema, television series) within the geopolitical dynamics of East Asia, highlighting tensions and diplomatic opportunities involving key partners such as China and Japan.
To promote a critical approach to cultural globalization through the analysis of the relationship between economic investment, cultural diplomacy, and new forms of media consumption.
To encourage connections between the discipline and other scientific fields (history, media sociology, economics, and international relations), offering a comprehensive and integrated perspective on the phenomenon.
To develop students’ communication and presentation skills through laboratory activities and collective discussions.
To provide students with the necessary tools to pursue independent study of the subject.
Expected Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, students will have acquired the ability to identify and interpret the main themes of South Korean popular culture, situating them within an interdisciplinary framework that connects cultural studies with the logics of soft power and the economy. Beyond familiarity with the products of the Korean Wave, students will be able to critically analyze them in relation to the postwar historical context, the development of creative industries, and the complex dynamics of cultural and media diplomacy.
Students will develop a strong capacity to assess South Korea’s global impact within international relations and will be able to rigorously distinguish between institutional narratives and underlying socio-cultural dynamics. Through laboratory activities and simulations, they will learn to formulate and communicate original analyses using the specialized language of cultural studies—an essential competence for academic research.
Finally, the laboratory-based approach will provide a flexible and autonomous research methodology, enabling students to produce original work and independently manage future in-depth studies of transnational cultural phenomena.
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Educational objectives Educational Objectives
The course Everyday History in Korea, offered within the framework of the CIVIS–KF Korean Studies E-School Consortium, aims to provide students with the theoretical and methodological tools necessary to explore modern Korean history through the lens of everyday life and individual subjectivity. The course is grounded in the foundations of “history from below” and microhistory, introducing key concepts such as Eigen-Sinn—understood as subjective autonomy—in order to establish the basis for a non-conventional historical analysis centered on lived experience.
Critical inquiry spans the colonial period through the Korean War, with particular attention to the experiences of historically marginalized actors, such as comfort women and civilian populations affected by aerial bombings. The course then proceeds to an examination of postwar South Korea, focusing on processes of industrialization and rural development associated with the Saemaul Movement, while also addressing the gendered dynamics produced by the militarization of society.
Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the course fosters dialogue between historical anthropology, gender studies, and the sociology of development. Through a hybrid and rotating teaching format involving the universities of Tübingen, Málaga, and Rome, the program promotes continuous international and multicultural exchange.
Collective discussion sessions are designed to enhance students’ communication and presentation skills. Overall, the course seeks to establish a solid theoretical foundation that enables students to independently pursue future in-depth research in the field.
Expected Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to identify and define the principal methodological approaches of everyday history and will have acquired the ability to outline the key stages of twentieth-century Korean history.
Students will be capable of applying microhistorical categories to the analysis of complex phenomena such as rural development and Korean industrialization. They will be able to connect social history theories with specific case studies, contextualizing archival documents and oral testimonies within the historical and postcolonial framework of East Asia.
Moreover, the course will enable students to critically evaluate primary sources, including journalistic reports and firsthand testimonies. They will develop the ability to formulate independent judgments on the ethical and social implications of militarization and female labor, clearly distinguishing between official historiography and individual memory.
Through active participation in an international academic environment (CIVIS–KF Korean Studies E-School Consortium), students will acquire the capacity to articulate complex historical issues using specialized academic language and in intercultural contexts. They will be able to present critical syntheses of their research, effectively communicating the connections between everyday life and major political transformations to both academic and professional audiences.
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