Global Nightlife: Spring 2011
New York University A Private University in the Public Service
Class Title Global Nightlife Listed as Global Nightlife V18.9680002 4 points Instructor Contact Name: Andrew Field Information Class Time Thursday, 5:00‐8:00 Course Combining the fields of history, sociology, and urban studies, this course Description examines the development of modern metropolitan lifestyles since the late 19th century, with a focus on the special role that nightlife has played in shaping and defining the modern urban experience. With a special focus on and plenty of field trips and site research in Shanghai, but also studying other great world metropolises such as New York, Paris, London, Berlin, and Tokyo, we will trace the development of nightlife as both a popular and elite form of urban culture from the late 1800s to the present day. Special attention will be given to the ways by which larger historical trends and events including capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, war, occupation, revolution, and the “opening and reforms” era have influenced the production of nightlife forms in Shanghai and elsewhere over the past century. We will also examine how nightlife has in turn influenced broader societal trends, including patterns of sociability, consumption, and sexuality in the modern metropolis. Course Objectives Through the activities and assignments associated with this course, students will practice and hone their skills in reading, research, analysis, writing, presentation, and discussion. For their group project, students will carry out original fieldwork in the nightlife zones of contemporary Shanghai and present their findings to the class. Grading 1) Six 250‐word “thought papers” based on the readings for the Components course, to be handed to the instructor throughout the semester at the beginning of six different classes of the student’s choice (5 percent each, 30 percent total) 2) One individual essay of around 3000 words (30 percent) 3) One group project presentation given at the end of the semester (20 percent) 4) One 1500‐word transcription of an interview with a person in the nightlife scene being researched by the group (10 percent) 5) One 1500‐word description of an evening spent in the establishment being researched by the group (10 percent)
New York University in Shanghai Global Nightlife: Spring 2011
Instructor Bio Grading A: Excellent performance showing a thorough knowledge and Expectations understanding of the topics of the course; all work includes clear, logical explanations, insight, and original thought and reasoning. B: Good performance with general knowledge and understanding of the topics; all work includes general analysis and coherent explanations showing some independent reasoning, reading and research. C: Satisfactory performance with some broad explanation and reasoning; the work will typically demonstrate an understanding of the course on a basic level. D: Passable performance showing a general and superficial understanding of the course’s topics; work lacks satisfactory insight, analysis or reasoned explanations. F: Unsatisfactory performance in all assessed criteria. Activities Optional and suggested trips and events will be discussed throughout the semester. Attendance Policy NYU in Shanghai has a strict policy about course attendance that allows no unexcused absences. Each unexcused absence will result in the deduction of three percentage points from the final grade. More than two unexcused absences will result in failure of the course. All absences due to illness require a signed doctor’s note from a local facility as proof that you have been ill and have sought treatment for that illness. All absence requests and excuses must be discussed with the Academic Support staff. Non‐illness absences must be discussed with the Academic Support staff or the Program Director prior to the date(s) in question.
Students should contact their instructors to catch up on missed work but should not approach them for excused absences. If you must miss class (for any reason), the Academic Support staff will determine whether or not it is an unexcused absence. If your absence is not excusable, you risk missing class as a detriment to your grade.
Students are expected to arrive to class promptly both at the start of class and after breaks. The Academic Assistant will check attendance 15 minutes after class begins. Arriving more than 15 minutes late or leaving more than 10 minutes early will be considered an unexcused absence.
Unexcused absences from exams are not permitted and will result in failure of the exam. If you are granted an excused absence from an exam by the Academic Support staff, your instructor will decide how you will make up the exam.
New York University in Shanghai Global Nightlife: Spring 2011
This attendance policy also applies for classes involving a field trip or other off‐campus visit. It is the student’s responsibility to arrive at the agreed meeting point on time.
There will be no adjustment of attendance records after the end of the semester. If you wish to contest a marked absence, you must do so before you leave Shanghai; so if you think that there may be a discrepancy about your attendance in class on a given day, ask the NYU in Shanghai academic staff to let you look at the attendance record. Submission of Late Written work due in class must be submitted during class time. Work Late work should be submitted in person to the Academic Support staff during regular office hours (9:30‐6:00, Monday‐Friday). The Academic Support staff will mark down the date and time of submission in the presence of the student.
Work submitted within five weekdays will be penalized one portion of a grade for every day that it is late (so if it is late by one day, an assignment marked an “A” will be changed to an “A‐,” and so on). Work submitted more than five days after the due date without an agreed extension will be given a zero.
Please note that final essays must be submitted on time. Plagiarism Policy Plagiarism: the presentation of another person’s words, ideas, judgment, images or data as though they were your own, whether intentionally or unintentionally, constitutes an act of plagiarism.
Students must retain an electronic copy of their work until final grades are posted on Albert. They must be prepared to supply an electronic copy if requested to do so by NYU in Shanghai. Not submitting a copy of their work upon request will result in automatic failure in the assignment and possible failure in the class.
Penalties for confirmed cases of plagiarism are set out in the Academic Guide. Required Text(s)
Week 1 Introduction to Course Thursday, February 24th Class discussion: Why do people like to go out clubbing and barhopping and what do they get out of it? What sorts of nightlife experiences have students had (if any)? Why do people enjoy dancing and what is the social significance of dancing in a public setting such as a nightclub?
New York University in Shanghai Global Nightlife: Spring 2011
Reading (each reading will be for the following week’s discussion): 1) David Grazian, “The Girl Hunt: Urban Nightlife and the Performance of Masculinity as Collective Activity,” Symbolic Interaction, Vol. 30, Issue 2, pp. 221–243 2) James Farrer and Andrew Field, Shanghai Nightscapes: Nightlife, Globalization, and Sexuality in the Chinese Metropolis, 01920 ‐201 (unpublished manuscript) Introduction and Chapter 1
Week 2 Class discussion: What does Grazian mean when he states that the “girl Thursday, March 3rd hunt” is “ritualistic and performative”? What sort of methodology does he use (in other words, where does he get his data from and how does he analyze it?) How does he interpret the behaviors of young men and women in nightlife environments? Do you agree or disagree with his findings? How do Field and Farrer define “nightlife?” What do they regard as the most significant features of the nightlife environment of Shanghai over the past century? What do they mean by the term “contact zone” and why is this important to an analysis of nightlife?
Lecture: The Origins of Modern Nightlife: The Cabarets of Fin‐de‐Siecle Paris and New York City
Film: Toulouse Lautrec and Montmartre
Reading: 1) Charles Rearick, Pleasures of the Belle Epoque: Entertainment and Festivity in Turn of the Century France (Yale University Press, 1985) pp. 53‐ 80 2) Kathy Peiss, Cheap Amusements (Temple University Press, 1986) ch. 4 “Dance Madness” 88‐114 3) Lewis Erenberg, Steppin’ Out: New York Nightlife and the Transformation of American Culture, 1890‐1930 (University of Chicago Press, 1984) ch. 4 “Action Environment”
Field trip 1: Hengshan Road. After class students can join the instructor for an optional dinner at a restaurant in the Hengshan Road area, followed by a tour of the district’s nightlife. Clubs and bars visited will likely include Zapatas and Phebe 3D
Week 3 Class discussion: Why was Montmartre such a lodestone for Parisian Thursday, March 10th cabaret culture and what was that culture? In New York City, what were the main reasons for young men and women to frequent dance establishments? Do you see any connections between that world and the
New York University in Shanghai Global Nightlife: Spring 2011
one described by Grazian in the previous week’s reading? What does Erenberg mean when he states that cabarets in early 20th century NYC were “action environments?” What connections did these establishments have to those of fin‐de‐siecle Paris?
Lecture: From Courtesan Houses and Geisha Quarters to Cafes and Jazz Cabarets: The Transformation of Nightlife in Jazz‐Age Shanghai and Tokyo
Film: Sin Cities: Shanghai
Reading: 1) James Farrer and Andrew Field, Shanghai Nightscapes, Chapter 2 2) E. Taylor Atkins, Blue Nippon: Authenticating Jazz in Japan (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2001) Ch. 2 “The Soundtrack of Modern Life: Japan’s Jazz Revolution” pp. 45‐91 3) Miriam Silverberg, ʺThe Café Waitress Serving Modern Japan,” in Mirror of Modernity (University of California Press, 1998) 208‐225
Week 4 Class discussion: How did the nightlife of the Jazz Age influence Thursday, March 17th Chinese society? How was it transformed in the process? Who were the principle agents of this transformation? How did the experience of Shanghai differ from that of Tokyo or Osaka in Japan? How were they similar? What are some of the similarities and differences between dance hostesses in Shanghai and café waitresses in urban Japan?
Lecture: New York, Paris, and Berlin in the Jazz Age
Reading: 1) Shane Vogel, The Scene of Harlem Cabaret: Race, Sexuality, Performance (University of Chicago Press, 2009) pp. 74‐103 2) Jeffrey Jackson, Making Jazz French: Music and Modern Life in Interwar Paris (Duke University Press, 2003) Chapter 3: “Jazz and the City of Paris” pp. 52‐70 3) Peter Jelavich, Berlin Cabaret (Harvard University Press, 1996) pp. 154‐ 186
Scenes from film Harlem Renaissance Film: Sin Cities: Paris
Field Trip 2: A Night at the Paramount. After class we will meet for an optional dinner in the Jing’an District followed by a visit to the famous
New York University in Shanghai Global Nightlife: Spring 2011
1930s ballroom, The Paramount. Week 5 Class discussion: How did the African American jazz and cabaret Thursday, March 24th culture of Harlem come to have such a powerful influence on images of nightlife in New York City and how did it become a defining aspect of American nightlife culture? How did American style jazz‐age nightlife influence Parisian culture? Who were the agents who brought this new nightlife to Paris? How did Parisians react to this invasion? How did American Jazz Age culture influence the nightlife and entertainment culture of Berlin? What are some of the similarities and differences between the Jazz Age in Paris and Berlin?
Lecture: Nightlife in the Era of WWII and its Aftermath
Film: Sin Cities: Berlin
Reading: 1) David Stowe, “The Politics of Café Society,” The Journal of American History, Vol. 84, No. 4 (Mar. 1998) 1384‐1406 2) Farrer and Field, Shanghai Nightscapes, Chapter 3 3) Atkins, Blue Nippon, Ch. 4 4)
Week 6 Class discussion: In what ways did Café Society provoke and challenge Thursday, March 31st the racially charged power structure and value system of New York and American society? Who were the key agents in this and what influence did they come to have on American culture? How did the politics surrounding this café reflect the emerging climate of Cold War politics? How did the events of World War II influence the development of nightlife in Shanghai and Tokyo? Why was jazz‐age nightlife so controversial in both cities? Why did authorities in China attempt to shut down the cabarets of Shanghai? When did social dancing reemerge in China and what motivated people to start dancing again?
Lecture: From Disco to Rave: The Evolution of Dance Club Cultures in the West, 1940s‐1990s
Film: Maestro (about dance club cultures in 1970s‐80s New York)
Reading: 1) Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey (Grove Press, 1999) Ch. 3 “Beginnings (Clubs)” pp. 43‐72
New York University in Shanghai Global Nightlife: Spring 2011
2) Tim Lawrence, Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970‐1979 (Duke University Press, 2003) Ch. 8 “Dominance: Disco Takes Over” 303‐61 3) Ben Malbon, Clubbing: Dancing, Ecstasy and Vitality (New York: 1999) pp. 70‐104 Week 7 Class discussion: What are some of the key developments in dance club Thursday, April 7th cultures since the 1940s? Why did these developments occur in different periods and what is the significance? What are the connections (if any) between dance club cultures and narcotic substances? How have dance club cultures encouraged or stimulated new forms and styles of sexual expression?
Lecture: Club and Bar Cultures in the East Since the 1990s
Film: Clips from a Week in Tokyo (a film by Andrew Field)
Reading: 1) Farrer and Field, Shanghai Nightscapes, Ch. 4‐5 2) Ian Condry, “A History of Japanese Hip Hop” in Tony Mitchell, ed., Global Noise: Rap and Hip‐Hop Outside the USA (Wesleyan University Press, 2002)
Week 8 Class discussion: How did Western dance club cultures become Thursday, April 14th established in Shanghai and Tokyo? Who were the main agents for doing so? Are there any resemblances to what happened in the Jazz Age 1920s and ‘30s? How have the emergence of club cultures in these cities influenced social behaviors of people living in Shanghai and Tokyo? What does the diversification of each city’s club and bar scene tell us about the forces of globalization that are at work in these Eastern metropolises?
Lecture: Nightlife, Regulation, and Sexuality in Shanghai since the 1980s
Film: Shanghai Nights (a film by Andrew Field)
Reading: 1) Farrer and Field, Shanghai Nightscapes, ch. 6‐8
Field Trip 3: Xintiandi After class we will meet for an optional dinner at a restaurant in Xintiandi, then we will explore some of the clubs and bars of this famous nightlife neighborhood
New York University in Shanghai Global Nightlife: Spring 2011
Week 9 Class discussion: What are the prominent nightlife neighborhoods in the Thursday, April 21st city, and what role does government intervention play in shaping the city’s nightscape? What sorts of sexual behaviors do people engage in in Shanghai’s bar and club scene? To what degree has nightlife in the city spurred a sexual revolution in Chinese urban culture?
Group Projects: For the second half of this class, we will work on organizing the group projects. Each student will choose their top 3 research sites out of the following clubs in Shanghai: Muse 1, Muse 2, Muse at Park 97, The Shelter, Phebe 3D, No. 88, Shanghai Studio, Babyrichie (Babyface), or the Paramount. Groups of four or five will be formed out of the preferences of individual students. Each group will be responsible for making at least three site visits to the research site (the dates and times of these visits should be explicitly mentioned in the group presentation), and each student will be responsible for writing a description of a night at the club and a transcribed interview with a patron or staff member of the club (see assignments below). During the final three weeks of the course, each group will deliver a one‐hour audiovisual presentation on their club that combines descriptions and analyses of the club scene with insights and themes drawn from the course readings. Each group project will be given a grade by the instructor based on the sophistication and impact of the presentation and analysis as well as the quality of information and data gathered by the group as a whole.
Study Break Program study break from Friday, April 22nd until Sunday, May 1st Week 10 Owing to our three evening field trips which count as class time, Thursday, May 5th students will have weeks 10‐12 off from class but will still be responsible for working on their group projects and handing in assignments
Essay Due: Using the reading materials for the course as reference materials, write a0 ‐300 word essay on an aspect of the historical development of modern nightlife that interests you. The essay can be specific to a city or world region or it can be more general, but it should cover a theme or themes developed in the lectures and reading materials for the course. Your essay will be graded on the basis of strength and coherence of your main theme or argument, originality and insight, accuracy of content, adequate and proper referencing, and proper grammar and style. Please submit this essay by email to [email protected] by no later than 5 pm
Week 11 No class today. Thursday Makeup
New York University in Shanghai Global Nightlife: Spring 2011
Day Writing Assignment: Each student shall submit a 1500‐word description Friday, May 6th of a night spent at their group project research site. This description should include the student’s own particular experiences, observations of other people at the club (both patrons and staff) and their behaviors as well as the club itself, including design elements, music and performances, patterns and styles of consumption of food and drink, and other features of the club scene (you should look to descriptions provided in the course reading materials for examples). Please submit this by email to [email protected] by no later than 5 pm Week 12 No class today. Thursday, May 12th Writing Assignment: Each student shall submit a 1500‐word transcription of an interview conducted with either a regular patron or staff member of the establishment they are researching for their group project. Questions asked and answered should be both general background questions about the person (place of origin, occupation, age, etc.) and specific questions about that person’s experiences patronizing or working for this club or other nightlife establishments in Shanghai. Please submit this by email to [email protected] by no later than 5 pm
Week 13 Group Project Presentations I Thursday, May 19th Week 14 Group Project Presentations II Thursday, May 26th Final Exam Group Project Presentations III Thursday, June 2nd
New York University in Shanghai