Montag, 07. Mai 2018, 18:30 - 20:00 iCal

Protest Tourism

Solidarity and Protest of Young Japanese in the Era of Individualization

Kyoko Tominaga (Ritsumeikan University, Kyôto)

 

Institut für Ostasienwissenschaften - Japanologie, Seminarraum Jap 1
Spitalgasse 2, UniversitätsCampus Hof 2, Eingang 2.4, 1090 Wien

Vortrag


This paper discusses how young activists deconstruct conventional forms of collective identity to construct alternative type of activism in contemporary Japan. Recently, reflections on the Occupy movement and other forms of collective action have prompted scholars of social movements to develop increasing interest in mobility and protest. Since activists travel to and stay in the protest arena for a limited period of time, social protest can be considered as activists’ protest tourism. In my own study, I research processes of accommodation and communication among youth movement communities in Japan. I interviewed 36 youth protesters who stayed and lived in shared houses while participating in lifestyle movements in Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo and Kyoto. My study shows that participation is not characterized by a common ideology, mutual principles or anti-mainstream political style. Participants rather share a sense of collective identity and learn appropriate styles of behavior as activists. This presentation therefore argues that protest tourism plays an important role in creating solidarity in the era of individualization.

Kyoko Tominaga is an associate professor with the College of Social Sciences at Ritsumeikan University, Japan. She holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Tokyo. Her research topics include social network of protesters, social movement sub-cultures, and mutual political understanding among activists across borders.

 


Veranstalter

Institut für Ostasienwissenschaften/Japanologie und AAJ (Akademischer Arbeitskreis Japan)


Kontakt

Mag. Angela Kramer
Universität Wien
Institut für Ostasienwissenschaften - Japanologie
4277-43801
angela.kramer@univie.ac.at