Asia-Global Cultural Studies Forum

Asia-Global-Cultural-Studies-Forum (AGCSF) is a forum of a lively discussion of Asia and Asia Global-related art, design, culture, media, creative strategy, and research. It is initiated by the professors and students at OCAD U who aspire to support and promote creative and critical research as well as art, design, media productions and ideas by Asian and/or Asia-Global students, professors, researchers, and professionals. The artist-designer-creator-researchers whose works are inspired by Asian cultures, values, and epistemology, as well as those who explore the latter’s connectivity to their work, are welcome to the forum.
The forum invites 3 tiers of presenters: the students, the professors, and the professionals.

The participatory organizational model of this forum consists of the presenters, the discussants, and the audience whose participation is to be valued equally to bring about a diverse and multidirectional discussion. The selection criteria of the presenters are based on merit and the contents of their works, not on rank or prestige.

The current focus of AGCSF is East Asia, particularly China, Korea, and Japan. However, the topics can be extended to include the issues related to South East Asia (i.e. the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand), the historical development and cultural formation of which are closely connected to that of the East Asian region through migration, etc. 

Everyone is welcome to participate in this forum or become a presenter in future events.

The AGCSF does not support any form of ethnocentric/regional chauvinism or hegemonic nationalism unfit for our vision of the future. The AGCSF does support the emergence of other cosmopolitan research groups and fora at OCAD U - based on a non-hierarchical and non-exclusionary notion of regional, national, ethnic and cultural identities.

For more information, please visit the website: https://asiaglobalculturalstudiesforum.wordpress.com

 

The Ethos of AGCSF

• A syncretic forum of all levels of researchers (students, professors, and professionals)

• Merit- and contents-based (not rank or prestige).

• No ethnocentric/regional chauvinism or hegemonic nationalism.

• Cosmopolitanism and exploration of difference and alternative epistemologies.

• Non-hierarchical organizational model for the promotion of a culture of open discussion.

• Participatory forum: The participants will consist of the presenters, the discussants, and the audience whose participation is to be equally valued to bring about diverse and multidirectional discussions.

• The Discussants are an important category of this forum. They are the generators of discussion as well as latent presenters. Those who are interested in presenting are recommended to participate as the discussants first. The discussants – along with the audience – who have previously participated in the forum and substantially contributed to the discussions will be considered with priority as the presenters for the following event.

• Embodied participation is implied in its growth model based on merit and contribution (rather than on rank or prestige). AGCSF hopes to make this forum truly an intellectually viable place for lively exchange and discussion of ideas and visions, a lively intellectual fora filled with genuine curiosity and openness to different perspectives.

• Embodied and experiential knowledge: AGCSF values embodied and experiential knowledge, research, and ideas rather than the overly academicized outcomes short of the conductive power to generate grounded and real conversations.

• ESL students are the most welcome. You are the holders of up-to-date global knowledge. If you have any ideas to share but the only thing that makes you hesitate is your English, please bring a translator or discuss the ideas with us.

 

The inaugural AGCSF event

The inaugural AGCSF event occurred on May 17, 2019 between 1:00 and 6:00pm at 205 Richmond St. West, Rm. 115.

Presentations delivered included:

• Dr. Soyang Park (OCAD U), A Cosmopolitan Remapping of East Asia and the Asia-Global: Notes Towards Asia-Global-Cultural Studies Forum(AGCSF)

• Leon Hsu (OCAD U), Reinventing Tradition Beyond Cultural Paradigm: A Brief Discussion of Cai Guo-Qiang’s Pyrotechnic Ephemera Works

• Christie Carriere (OCAD U), Returning the Gaze: Contemporary Asian Female Artists Responding to (Techno) Orientalism

• Richard Luong (OCAD U), Directing Orientalism: The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)

• Jessica Liu (OCAD U), Painting My Own Being in the World, Falling in and out of Past and Contemporary

• Christine Li (OCAD U), Manuel Ocampo and Colonial Legacy: Trauma, Multidirectional Memory, and Redemption

• Ema Dan (OCAD U),  Idol, Not Celebrity: K-Pop, K-Pop Fans, and their Symbiosis

• Yilong Liu (OCAD U), Confronting Ambiguity: The Intersection of Racial and Sexual Repression and Marginalisation in Rex vs Singh and Seeking Single White Male

• Florence Yee (OCAD U), Bad Forgeries Make for Good Originals: A Studio-Research Project into Cantonese-Canadian Issues of Authenticity, Belonging and Diaspora Subjectivities Working with Text-based Art

• Yujia Shi (University of Toronto), From One-Child to Two-Child: Understanding Birth Planning Policies in China’s Population Governance

• Hannia Cheng (TeaBase), Tea Base: Against the Displacement and Gentrification of Chinatowns

 

Additional Information:

What is Culture?

Culture is the shared value system and code of conducts that exist in interconnected and contingent differences across communities, cultures, and nations.

Culture in all its manifestations – conventional, popular, emergent, marginal, and resistant – are constantly shaped by and are (re-)shaping our status quo, ways of thinking, and visions.

Culture is not fixed but constantly shifts through the intersecting influences of politics, economy, populations, migrations, and even environment.

The study of culture is empirical as well as theoretical, and most importantly, it is an interdisciplinary endeavor. The set of questions, analyses, and evaluations it involves itself in interacts with other fields of study such as the study of economy and politics; social studies, ethnic studies; cultural anthropology and media studies; identity, gender, sexuality, class, and ideology studies.

What is a Forum?

A gathering place for exchanges of ideas and views. It is also the agora (Greek), a proto-site of democracy.

 

Event photographs courtesy of Carlina Chen.

Creator: 
Sponsor(s): 
Photograph of Dr. Park and speaker conversing with audience at the AGCSF event.
Friday, July 12, 2019 - 12:15pm

Inaugural Event of Asia-Global-Cultural-Studies-Forum (AGCSF )

Photograph of Dr. Park and presenter conversing at the AGCSF event.
Friday, July 12, 2019 - 11:45am

The inaugural event of the Asia-Global-Cultural-Studies-Forum (AGCSF) facilitated by Dr. Soyang Park (LASSIS) was successfully held on May 17, 1-6 pm in room 115 at 205 Richmond St. West.

11 speakers presented their research, creations, community activities/entrepreneurship on and dealing with diverse topics concerning the issues in Asia and the Asia-Global. The presenters and discussants consisted of OCAD U student-researchers from both undergrad and graduate programs (Art, Design, CADN, VCS, CRCP, CCP, and IAMD), OCAD U faculty members, graduate researchers from other institutions (UofT), and a professional (the founder of Tea Base).

Topics dealt with at this event included: the art, creation, media, and strategies concerning, multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism, (techno-)orientalism, memory/trauma, multi-directionality, race and gender, the matriarchic history of Vietnam, the colonial history of Philippines, K-pop and Korean pop cultural industry, the intersection of racial and sexual oppression in Canada, the visual strategies of the artists working in-between cultures, etc. 

The interdisciplinarity (art, research, and media) of the presentations and syncretic organization (intersecting all tiers of presenters such as professors, students, and professionals), endorsed as the key ethos and organizational model of AGCSF, were attested to be conductive and refreshing throughout this inaugural event. The forum really came alive within about an hour or so, as the participants became more relaxed and more engaged in the presentations and discussions. Different views were presented, engaging the participants in truly lively discussions. With Dr. Park in the role of active mediator of the multilateral conversations and learnings, the forum successfully made the event a participatory occasion for intellectual conversations about the presented topics and researches wherein the contributions by the presenters, the discussants, and the audience were all equally valued.

The event’s organizer received many heartfelt feedback from the students and faculties (including those from the LAS Office) who participated and witnessed the event. Many appreciated how the forum was so lively and inclusive. Also, they shared that they are looking forward to the next event and that they wish for this forum to continue and grow further in the future. Many attendees have expressed their interest in presenting their works at future events.

Thanks to a few engaging and extended presentations and discussions, the event went over the intended 5 hours and continued until 7 pm. Despite the extension, 35-40 people (5-6 coming in and out) stayed until the end with such enthusiasm and keen interest.

The organizer wishes to extend thanks to all participants in the forum, especially Yilong Liu (Louie) and Richard Luong for their hard work as the coordinators, and to the Research Office and the LASSIS department for extending the funding and supporting the event. The organizer also thanks Professors Ian Clark, Marie-Josée Therrien, and Ashok Mathur who came to witness and participate in the event. Special thanks also go to Kirstyn Moore for assisting the coordinators with circulating the event announcements to the wider OCAD U community and to Carlina Chen for her support as well. 

For more information on AGCSF and its future events, please visit the website: https://asiaglobalculturalstudiesforum.wordpress.com

 

Event photographs courtesy of Carlina Chen.

Asia-Global-Cultural-Studies-Forum (AGCSF)  Inaugural Event

Friday, May 17, 2019 - 1:00pm to 6:00pm

The inaugural event

Date: Friday, May 17, 2019

Time: 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Venue: 205 Richmond St. West, Room 115

Facilitated by professor Soyang Park (Liberal Studies)

3 tiers of presenters: Students, professors, and professionals

Participatory forum: Presenters, discussants, and the audience

Ongoing forum: regularly from September 2019: open for public submission of ideas: email to: spark@faculty.ocadu.ca.

 

List of Presentations

Dr. Soyang Park (OCAD U), A Cosmopolitan Remapping of East Asia and the Asia-Global: Notes Towards Asia-Global-Cultural Studies Forum(AGCSF)

Leon Hsu (OCAD U), Reinventing Tradition Beyond Cultural Paradigm: A Brief Discussion of Cai Guo-Qiang’s Pyrotechnic Ephemera Works

Christine Carriere (OCAD U), Returning the Gaze: Contemporary Asian Female Artists Responding to (Techno) Orientalism

Richard Luong (OCAD U), Directing Orientalism: The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)

Jessica Liu (OCAD U), Painting My Own Being in the World, Falling in and out of Past and Contemporary

Christine Li (OCAD U), Manuel Ocampo and Colonial Legacy: Trauma, Multidirectional Memory, and Redemption

Ema Dan (OCAD U),  Idol, Not Celebrity: K-Pop, K-Pop Fans, and their Symbiosis

Yilong Liu (OCADU), Confronting Ambiguity: The Intersection of Racial and Sexual Repression and Marginalisation in Rex vs Singh and Seeking Single White Male

Florence Yee (OCADU), Bad Forgeries Make for Good Originals: A Studio-Research Project into Cantonese-Canadian Issues of Authenticity, Belonging and Diaspora Subjectivities Working with Text-based Art

Yujia Shi (University of Toronto), From One-Child to Two-Child: Understanding Birth Planning Policies in China’s Population Governance

Hannia Cheng(TeaBase), Tea Base: Against the Displacement and Gentrification of Chinatowns

 

What is Culture

Culture is the shared value system and code of conducts that exist in interconnected and contingent differences across communities, cultures, and nations.

Culture in all its manifestations – conventional, popular, emergent, marginal, and resistant – are constantly shaped by and are (re-)shaping our status quo, ways of thinking, and visions.

Culture is not fixed but constantly shifts through the intersecting influences of politics, economy, populations, migrations, and even environment.

The study of culture is empirical as well as theoretical, and most importantly, it is an interdisciplinary endeavor. The set of questions, analyses, and evaluations it involves itself in interacts with other fields of study such as the study of economy and politics; social studies, ethnic studies; cultural anthropology and media studies; identity, gender, sexuality, class, and ideology studies.

     

What is a Forum

A gathering place for exchanges of ideas and views. It is also the agora (Greek), a proto-site of democracy.

The ethos of AGCSF:

  • A syncretic forum of all levels of researchers (students, professors, and professionals)
  • Merit- and contents-based (not rank or prestige).
  • No ethnocentric/regional chauvinism or hegemonic nationalism.
  • Cosmopolitanism and exploration of difference and alternative epistemologies.
  • Non-hierarchical organizational model for the promotion of a culture of open discussion.
  • Participatory forum: The participants will consist of the presenters, the discussants, and the audience whose participation is to be equally valued to bring about diverse and multidirectional discussions.
  • The Discussants are an important category of this forum. They are the generators of discussion as well as latent presenters. Those who are interested in presenting are recommended to participate as the discussants first. The discussants – along with the audience – who have previously participated in the forum and substantially contributed to the discussions will be considered with priority as the presenters for the following event.
  • Embodied participation is implied in its growth model based on merit and contribution (rather than on rank or prestige). AGCSF hopes to make this forum truly an intellectually viable place for lively exchange and discussion of ideas and visions, a lively intellectual fora filled with genuine curiosity and openness to different perspectives.
  • Embodied and experiential knowledge: AGCSF values embodied and experiential knowledge, research, and ideas rather than the overly academicized outcomes short of the conductive power to generate grounded and real conversations.
  • ESL students are the most welcome. You are the holders of up-to-date global knowledge. If you have any ideas to share but the only thing that makes you hesitate is your English, please bring a translator or discuss the ideas with us.

*Everyone is welcome to participate in this forum/become a presenter in future events.

*AGCSF does not support any form of ethnocentric or regional chauvinism or hegemonic nationalism unfit for our vision for the future. It solely focuses on promoting cosmopolitan learning and exploration of cultures and multi-directional decolonization.

*AGCSF supports the emergence of other cosmopolitan research groups and fora at OCAD U - based a non-hierarchical and non-exclusionary notion of regional, national, ethnic, and cultural identities.

*For further information: find the “Asia-Global Cultural Studies Forum” (AGCSF) event page  on Facebook.

Or visit our website: https://asiaglobalculturalstudiesforum.wordpress.com

Venue & Address: 
OCAD University, 205 Richmond St. W., Room 115
Website: 
https://www.facebook.com/events/170324180578290/
Email: 
lliu@faculty.ocadu.ca
Cost: 
FREE
"AGCSF" in black text on a flat pink background

Taste Graph: A narrative visualization tool for massive media data

Traditional newspapers are moving dramatically to digital publishing and data analytics in order to better understand their users’ behaviors, build their subscriber base, maintain their online readers, determine advertising placements. The goal is to deepen and diversify their revenue streams. For this purpose, VAL's Taste Graph research analyzes and synthesis the Globe and Mail data about their subscribers and their web-browsing habits, indicating connections between tastes.

Discovering affinities across different categories is a promising method of segmenting the audience within the context of media planning and potential advertising campaigns. For example, if someone shops for organic vegetables they might be more likely to shop to organic tea. Also, if data indicates close affinities between the categories of organic clothes and organic foods, it is reasonable that a purchaser of both organic vegetable and tea packs will be interested in shopping for an organic cotton shirt if they are provided with a choice to pick a shirt. As well, the people within the taste category  ‘organic’ could also be interested in certain types of drinks, types of shoes, and a sports travel lifestyle.

To establish similar taste correlations within Globe and Mail data, we follow a “narrative approach” that helps tell stories with the data by providing a smooth transition from raw data to communicating through data visualization. The tool we are developing supports the Globe and Mail marketing teams. Firstly, it provides an easy way to filter multiple sources of data and find relationships. Secondly, it shows patterns regarding Globe and Mail audience tastes in customized narrative visualizations. From these, the marketing teams could gain holistic knowledge about their audience tastes and see the impact of certain taste correlations or become aware of some hidden insights of interest regarding relationships between tastes. Thirdly, it allows Globe and Mail people to remain continuously knowledgeable about their business performance measures.

Our organization of the design space involves two types of narrative tactics: visual and structural. For visual tactics, we deploy several visual mechanisms that assist and facilitate the narrative. We chose a bubble chart, and grouped bar chart to illustrate, evaluate, and compare tastes, scores and engagement levels. Colour is then applied to different categories of advertisements to indicate degrees of divergence in tastes. We depend on navigation strategies as a structural tactic to assist the narrative. For example, we arrange the paths the viewer might take through the visualizations, and we make the visualizations interactive by including filtering, selecting, searching, and navigating of advertisement data. These strategies are tested and refined with Globe and Mail design and marketing teams and will then be audience tested.

Our visualization tool, in general, respects secure web application standards. Our goal is to provide the Globe and Mail with intuitive reports about the overall and manifold correlations of tastes of their readership and advertising audiences. Our proposed tool handles the complexity of massive and heterogeneous marketing data records and translates it into a communicative interface.

See a preview of TasteGraph from the IEEE Computer Society Visualization and Graphics Technical Committee VIS2018 here.

Click here to see Ahmad Karawash presenting this research at the Ontario OAR Conference, May 16 2018.
Click here to view this project on SOSCIP's page.

This research was presented by Dr. Ahmad Karawash, Postdoctoral Fellow and Team Lead, and Sana Shepko at the Ontario Centres of Excellence annual Discovery conference on May 1st, 2018 (see below).
 

Image of interactive tool, showing a graphical comparison of universe vs. specific category's engagement with taste groups
Photograph of Ahmad Karawash and Sana Shepko attending Discovery 2018 conference to present research.
Friday, May 18, 2018 - 10:45am

2020 Media Futures

2020 Media Futures is an ambitious, multi-industry strategic foresight project designed to understand and envision what media may look like in the year 2020; what kind of cross-platform Internet environment may shape our media and entertainment in the coming decade; and how our firms and organizations can take action today toward capturing and maintaining positions of national and international leadership.

The purpose of 2020 Media Futures is to use open-source strategic foresight for the benefit of the creative cluster — the book, magazine, music, film, television and interactive digital media industries – to help organizations and individuals “future-proof” themselves and their creative livelihoods. These creative professionals include writers, filmmakers, producers, music label executives, game developers, programmers, and other media franchise specialists. To help them prepare for the future, we employed strategic foresight research methods and practices. You can learn about our strategic foresight research methodology and project structure. But before recounting that material, we present the heart of the project, the narrative and contextual scenarios developed through this consultative, participatory process.

These scenarios are the result of analytical and synthetic work described in the pages that follow: horizon scanning for signals and trends in consumer behaviour and the media industries; collaborative workshops with industry experts and professionals; and sense-making exercises led by sLab team members to understand the data that we gathered.

In many ways, the scenarios were the ultimate goal of the project: four unique visions of possible futures that members of the creative cluster could read, critique and engage with. But as we discovered, the research process that led to their writing was its own reward. Ontario’s creative community is diverse, highly opinionated and innovative.

Through our interactions together we gained experiential learning about the needs of these industries, but also a rich understanding of their hopes and fears for the future. Our participants in turn clearly took advantage of opportunities to establish new network connections with one another at our events. We are grateful for the honesty and energy of their contributions to this project.

–Greg Van Alstyne and Madeline Ashby

Other Partners Include:

  • Achilles Media
  • Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP)
  • Breakthrough New Media
  • Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
  • Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA)
  • Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC)
  • Corus Entertainment
  • GestureTek
  • GlassBOX Television
  • Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE)
  • Marblemedia
  • National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
  • Nordicity
  • OCAD University
  • Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE)
  • Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT), Sheridan Institute
  • St. Joseph Media
  • Universal Music Canada
  • York University

 

For more information, please visit http://slab.ocadu.ca/project/2020-media-futures.

Advisor: 
2020 Media Futures: Cover Image featuring title in white font on a purple background with OCADU and sLab logos
Monday, October 23, 2017 - 11:30am

ASTOUND Summit

The Astound Summit’s overarching goal was to provide content producers with opportunities to explore the importance of connecting with their audiences, viewers and users. The presentations, panel discussion and clinics were designed to introduce participants to the best ways to integrate audiences into the design process and leverage these relationships in order to secure financing and investment. The Summit was designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the role of audiences in relation to the development of their projects, as well as tools, frameworks and options to help them grow sustainable businesses.

At the heart of the Summit was a series of clinics designed to provide participants with a hands-on opportunity to play with audience engagement concepts and tools.

 

INTEGRATING PARTICIPATORY DESIGN TECHNIQUES
_______________________________________________________________________

These clinics provided participants with an opportunity to explore participatory design techniques (PDT) that can be used throughout the innovation lifecycle. These included: the Design Research Techniques Map, the PDT Card Deck and the concept of participatory design (audience engagement) goals. Participatory Design techniques are a broader category of tool sets that engage multiple stakeholders — including diverse audience sets, various partners (including investors), and internal team members. Design Research techniques typically focus on participatory design techniques that engage audiences in the project lifecycle.

With aids of templates and instructions, content producers were encouraged to consider the techniques that were most useful to their participatory design goals.

 

PROCESS
_______________________________________________________________________

This exercise helps content producers explore the ways in which participatory design techniques can help identify, understand and engage audiences or other stakeholders.

 

DOMAIN:

What stage in the development of your project are you in? We have organized a project life-cycle in 6 typical stages in 3 main phases: Discover (includes Define), Design (includes Concept), Implement (includes Evaluate). You may, however, use your own terms or designations here. 

 

SESSION:

WHAT: What is it?; What media-type or platforms are you designing for? 

WHERE: What markets, places or situations is it designed for?

WHEN: When is it being launched; is it designed for a particular time of day, event or activity? WHY: What need does it meet? What job does it perform? 

WHO: Who are your assumed users / customers / audience members?

 

GOALS:

What goals might using Participatory Design Techniques help you attain? Consider the following examples and try to answer the questions:

 

  • Identify: Do you want to know who your potential audiences are? DO you want to know what matters?
  • Understand: Are you looking to understand your customers or audience better? Do you how your idea will fit into their lives, solve pain-points, or enchant them?
  • Co-create: Are you trying to co-create with your customers or audiences, ie involve them in the development of your project? 
  • Acquire: Build or expand a base of fan or customers that you can leverage for marketing and promotional purposes? 
  • Retain: Is your audience dropping off? Do they download or access your offering but fail to follow through or return?

 

ANALYZE:

Use the grid to sort your PD technique cards against goals and stage of project.

 

 

4 smaller images demonstrating interactive content
Tuesday, August 12, 2014 - 5:30pm