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This is the third time I’m running this MA course called “Special Topics in Genre Studies”, one of those umbrella course titles which allow us to teach a variety of topics.

The class is subtitled “Writing, Photography and Blogging”. In it, we explore topics to do with autoethnography, street photography, as well as social media.

The course is basically an occasion for students to explore various Hong Kong micro cultures that intrigue them through the mediums of street photography, reflective writing and blogging.

I’ve blogged about how we have to work through a number of readings concerning thick description, autoethnography, etc, in an earlier run of the course here.

We’re currently into the second week of student presentations.

There’s still one more week to go but so far, things have been great. I’m actually learning so much.

Group 1 is working on hongkongkidz. There was a comment made concerning kids’ behaviour on public transport, on how children basically tend to play little games with themselves, hence turning urban transport spaces into playgrounds of sorts. Thus for children, to be on public transport is to be on a journey of sorts, in contrast to adults, to whom public transport is about the daily commute. Another person from the group focused on education. A point was made concerning the rather Panoptic surveillance technology in the classroom – the teacher could actually see on his own screen what individual students were looking at on their monitors. Another person talked about the phenomenon of “Monster parents” and “Kong kids”, concerning how over-protective parents are creating a generation of emotionally dependent children.

Group 2 is working on the theme of leading a slow-paced life in fast-paced Hong Kong. A point has been made concerning how clocks are everywhere in public spaces, on how speed is a disease. Their photographs represent a search for spaces where time seems to slow down. They made connections with the slow food movement, pointing out how the practice of yumcha is actually a deliberate slowing down of the pace of life.

Group 3 focuses on the colour red. There is a degree of randomness here, in that they went about taking pictures of red objects in public spaces. A point has been made concerning how the arbitrary act of paying attention to the colour has enabled one of them to notice objects that posit various cultural narratives that she would otherwise miss. Another presenter made a point concerning how traditional Chinese products make use of red as a cultural marker of nostalgia.

Group 4 is working on hkpsychogeography. A point has been made concerning how Hong Kong’s public spaces have an excessive tendency to make themselves legible through signboards. This in inevitable especially given Hong Kong’s population density. We simply cannot afford have large groups of people getting lost and wandering about. There’s irony involved when one sees bills on walls warning against posting bills on walls.  One of the presenters noted how makeshift political statements are often pasted on various signboards, hence making the political will of Hong Kong people legible.

Group 5 indulged their curiosity concerning horseracing in Hong Kong. They made a point concerning social stratification at the horse races, about how the social elites are in the booths whereas the general public are in the bleachers. This in turn led to a comment concerning how the same thing happened at the theater in Shakespeare’s time. A point has been made concerning how a vice becomes civilized via ticketing procedures and protocols. The presentation got me thinking about the possible analogies to be made concerning picking horses vs picking stocks. Perhaps the various life choices we make, such as picking a course of study, our careers, etc, are subject to the same sort of rational calculations in a world that is sometimes arbitrary/random.

There are still 2 more groups who will present next week. One project concerns transportation culture while the other has to do with boundaries in urban spaces.

Woohoo!