Interesting line up. Gets me think­ing about maybe orga­niz­ing a con­fer­ence in the future on cul­tural pol­i­tics and activism in Korea.

ICAS Event — Academic Conference — Emergent Forms of Engagement and Activism in Japan: Politics, Cultures and Technologies

This con­fer­ence brings together an inter­na­tional, multi-disciplinary group of schol­ars seek­ing to doc­u­ment and under­stand emer­gent forms of polit­i­cal activism, social engage­ment and cul­tural resis­tance among youth in Japan. From street pol­i­tics to new forms of social­i­ties, from cre­ative rep­re­sen­ta­tion to active resis­tance, our goal is to develop a crit­i­cal lan­guage that cap­tures the range of alter­na­tives to what was once con­sid­ered polit­i­cal. Through the her­itage of post-war stu­dent and cit­i­zens’ move­ments, pop­u­lar cul­ture shifts dur­ing 1970‚ afflu­ence, and post-bubble reces­sion­ary dis­en­fran­chise­ment, we will explore these alter­na­tive cur­rents right into our post-3.11 moment.Date: June 11^th, 2011 (13:00 – 18:00) / June 12^th, 2011 (13:00 – 19:00)
Venue: TUJ Azabu Hall, room 212
Access: Maps and Directions
Webpage: Event Webpage

Organizers:
Kyle Cleveland, Temple University Japan
David H. Slater, Sophia University
Love Kindstrand, Sophia University

Admission: General: 1,000 yen (Sat & Sun inclu­sive) / Student: Free with stu­dent ID
Language: English & Japanese (simul­ta­ne­ous trans­la­tion is not avail­able.)
RSVP: Open to all / RSVP not required

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Saturday, June 11

Opening Remarks: David H. Slater, Sophia University. Emergent Politics in Japan Today

13.00−15.00: ART, CREATIVITY, REPRESENTATIONS AND RESISTANCE

Tomiko Yoda, Japanese Literature and Media Studies, Harvard University
Between Pop and Radical: Feminism and Media Culture in Early 70s Japan

Sharon Hayashi, Cinema and Media Studies, York University
From Exploitation to Playful Exploits

Patrick W. Galbraith, Information Studies, University of Tokyo
Train Man, Radiowave Man, Underground Man: Revisiting the Politics of Pleasure after the Akihabara Incident

Discussants: Anne Allison, Duke University and Yoshitaka Mouri, Tokyo University of the Arts

15.30−18.00: CURRENTS AND CULTURES OF ACTIVISM

Yoshitaka Mouri, Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku)
Reconsidering Cultural-Political Movements in Japan in the Age of “Freeter”

Higuchi Takuro, Social Movement Studies
A Prehistory of the Alterglobalisation Movement in Japan: Subterranean Autonomous Networks
Since the ‘90s

Robin O’Day, Cultural Anthropology, University of British Columbia
Union is Hope: The Role of Networks and Digital Media in Organizing Japan’s Young Irregular Workers

Love Kindstrand, Cultural Anthropology, Sophia University
Tactical Currents, Spatial Framings: the Movement Against Nike-ification of Miyashita Park and Beyond

Discussants: Patricia Steinhoff, University of Hawaii and Daishiro Nomiya, Sophia University

18:00: “GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION” DEMONSTRATION
June 11 is a global day of action orga­nized by the Japanese move­ment against nuclear power. After the final panel on Saturday we will leave together for a gath­er­ing held in cen­tral Shinjuku. Anyone who is inter­ested in attend­ing is more than wel­come to join. More details are avail­able at http://​nonukes​.jp

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Sunday, June 12

13.00−16.30: TRAJECTORIES OF ALTERNATIVE POLITICS

Ikuo J. Gonoï, Political Theory, Rikkyo University
The World’s End: The Cognitive Turn from “Sekai” to “Shakai”

Patricia Steinhoff, Sociology, University of Hawaii
Transforming Invisible Civil Society into Alternative Politics

Mizukoshi Shin, Media Studies, University of Tokyo
Communal Storytellings in A Regimented Society: Critical Media Practice on People’s Media Literacy and Expression

Anne Allison, Cultural Anthropology, Duke University
Stopping Death and Organizing Around Life: a Politics of Survival

Shibuya Nozomu, Cultural Sociology, Chiba University
Radioactive Contamination and the Common

Discussants: Tomiko Yoda, Harvard University and Sharon Hayashi, York University

17.00−18.00: ROUND TABLE:

POST-3.11 FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR SCHOLARSHIP AND ACTIVISM

Since the Tohoku earth­quake on March 11, Japan has seen a renewed sense of national and polit­i­cal cri­sis, and an inten­si­fi­ca­tion of nation­al­is­tic nar­ra­tives. Perhaps more impor­tantly, there has been a reawak­ened polit­i­cal sub­jec­tiv­ity that goes beyond exist­ing anti-capitalist or anti-nuclear alter­na­tives, which sug­gests a broader and more last­ing repoliti­ciza­tion of every­day life. Demonstrations in Tokyo have been some of the largest since the Anpo era, but this is only one aspect of a post-3.11 cri­tique of key insti­tu­tions at the heart of the Japan, Inc. power struc­ture. In this round-table dis­cus­sion our pre­sen­ters will attempt to make sense of the events since 3.11, and explore their impli­ca­tions for our own scholarship.

Chair: Kyle Cleveland, Temple University Japan

18.00: RECEPTION (light food and drinks will be served)
Hosted by TEMPLE UNIVERSITY JAPAN: Wakai Project

Please visit the con­fer­ence web­site for full pre­sen­ta­tion abstracts.