In contemporary society, people engage with media continuously from the moment they wake up. However, this media ecology is often dominated by those in power—the state and capital. Governments increasingly use taxpayer money for large-scale domestic and international propaganda, employing product placement and cognitive warfare to promote their policies and consolidate power. Meanwhile, capitalists establish media conglomerates, leveraging their control over cultural content production and platform monopolization to deliver endless advertising, collect, store, and trade user data through big data and algorithmic surveillance. The utopian vision of the internet from the 1990s has ironically evolved into a dark reality. Anonymity and the dark web have fueled harmful behaviors, leading to the rise of trolls, cyberbullying, online harassment, and horrific incidents such as South Korea’s Nth Room cybersex crime case, where digital footprints haunt victims long after the crimes occur. Such violations infringe on cultural rights, personal reputation, and even push individuals to despair.
However, cultural citizenship, as recognized by the United Nations, is a fundamental human right. It encompasses self-identity, the right to express one’s voice, access diverse information, and advocate for social issues, fostering public discourse and driving social change—the bedrock of democratic societies. This course introduces an emerging and dynamic area of communication studies: how people utilize cultural power to understand themselves, empower communities, challenge state and corporate dominance, establish alternative media, and advocate for social issues to spark public discourse and transformation.
This course emphasizes the integration of theory and practice. The theoretical foundation covers participatory communication, cultural activism, alternative media, art intervention, culture jamming, data activism, memes, and exhibition curation. Alongside theoretical exploration, students will examine significant case studies, experiencing the creativity, challenges, and societal impact of cultural activism. The pedagogical approach opposes alienated learning, instead fostering a DIY punk spirit, encouraging hands-on participation. The course aims to integrate intellectual understanding, emotional engagement, bodily experience, and social interaction to create a holistic learning process. In today’s media ecosystem, individuals are often treated as passive consumers, endlessly receiving media content. This course urges students to pause, clear mental space, and listen to their inner selves, fostering self-empowerment in the classroom. Students will learn various expressive methods, including zines, screen printing, memes, community GIS mapping, and VR applications.
The second section of the course explores state oppression and independent media resistance. The phrase “If you don’t study as a child, you’ll become a journalist” is a common joke that reflects public dissatisfaction with mass media. Why is this the case? How severe can state censorship become? This section delves into state suppression, independent Chinese films, diaspora media from China and Hong Kong, and the cultural activism of Hong Kong’s anti-extradition movement, including Lennon Walls, graffiti, installations, performance art, protest slogans, zines, memes, exhibitions, and music.
The third section focuses on marginalized communities and activism, emphasizing that no one is an outsider—we all share responsibility for society. In a system that relentlessly exploits individuals, disillusionment and apathy may seem like the only responses. However, many social issues demand attention. The rise of digital technology has exposed individuals’ private data, enabled new forms of sexual violence, and created unprecedented ethical dilemmas. With pet ownership surpassing human births, new questions about multispecies cohabitation arise. Taiwan’s housing crisis and urban development scandals, such as land seizures for high-speed rail projects, reveal deep-rooted corruption between government and corporations. Additionally, voiceless groups at the bottom of the social hierarchy—such as the homeless, migrant workers, new immigrants, and other marginalized populations—struggle to be heard. Social stigmatization also silences individuals, including LGBTQ+ communities and survivors of sexual violence. Despite these challenges, numerous cultural activism projects have successfully amplified marginalized voices in Taiwan. This course will feature guest speakers from key activist organizations, offering firsthand insights into their work and experiences. By the end of the course, students will develop a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic relationship between state, capital, and the people. They will gain self-awareness, cultural literacy, and exposure to alternative subcultures such as zine-making and independent exhibitions. The course will also provide valuable skills for prosumer media production, curatorial practices, social advocacy, NGO work, and documentary filmmaking. The instructor has led Taiwan’s first photography class for the homeless, earning a citizen journalism award and organizing six exhibitions and multiple publications. During their studies in the United States, they also organized art therapy workshops for women’s centers, focusing on collage-based storytelling and community healing.
