[Pedagogical adaptation]
Healthy, Wealthy, Selfie: Critically examining selfie culture and a look at selfies in Singapore

Celebrity selfies, politician selfies, sponsored selfies, and transgressive selfies have made international news since ‘selfie’ was named word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries in 2013. But what is in a selfie? How is this global phenomenon conceptualized across producers and consumers, and how can one understand selfie culture beyond a mere frivolous pop­internet fad? Between psychological discourses of selfie culture as narcissism and the viable co­opting of selfies into marketing campaigns ala Ellen’s infamous Oscar selfie, ‘Healthy, Wealthy, Selfie’ looks at the productive pedagogy of the selfie. This talk is an overview of selfie culture around the world, current research initiatives, and ways of thinking through the selfie critically as discourse, evidence, affect, ethics, and performance. Drawing from Crystal’s work on social media entrepreneurship in Singapore and East Asia since 2010, the talk also invites us to examine selfie culture in Singapore through ethnographic case studies.

The pedagogical content of this talk is based on a new ‘Teaching with Selfies’ syllabus collaboratively produced by members of the Selfies Pedagogy Group (est. August 2014), founded by Theresa Senft of NYU with a group of international scholars. Our educational group is an offshoot from The Selfies Research Network (est. February 2014). Visit us at http://www.selfieresearchers.com

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[popular audience adaptation]
Healthy, Wealthy, Selfie: Critically examining selfie culture and a look at selfies in Singapore

Since ‘selfie’ was named word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries in 2013, celebrities from politicians to Hollywood starlets and (even the Pope!) have been on news radars for their selfie antics. But what do everyday users make of selfies? Psychologists tend to think of selfies as a form of narcissism while marketing executives focus on their advertising potential. This talk looks at the culture of selfies around the world and in Singapore. It also introduces new ways of thinking about selfies today.

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[international adaptation] 
Selfie culture in Singapore​

Celebrity selfies, politician selfies, sponsored selfies, and transgressive selfies have made international news since ‘selfie’ was named word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries in 2013. But what is in a selfie? How can one understand selfie culture beyond a mere frivolous pop-­internet fad? Steering away from psychological discourses of selfie culture as narcissism, this talk demonstrates the productive potential of commercial selfies among microcelebrities on social media. It draws on Crystal’s work on social media entrepreneurship in Singapore and East Asia since 2010, and presents a snapshot of selfie culture among its most productive makers in Singapore.

Abidin, C. (2015) “Thinking about selfie culture: A pedagogical workshop” ICT and Cultural Change, Science & Technology Studies, Gender Studies, Norges Teknisk-Naturvetenskapliga Universitet, Trondheim. Mar 18, 2015.

Abidin, C. (2015) “Selfie culture in Singapore​” Media Technology and Interaction Design MID Morning Seminar, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (Royal Institute of Technology), Stockholm. Feb 23, 2015.

Abidin, C. (2014) “Healthy, Wealthy, Selfie: Critically examining selfie culture and a look at selfies in Singapore” Gender Collective and University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Oct 2, 2014.