Events
theme 2011-2012:
Cultural Action and Social Media
From January 2011 through summer 2012, the theme of the Cool Japan research project will be to explore “cultural action and social media.” By social media, we are not referring primarily to particular technologies (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Nico Nico Dôga, 2 Chan, Mixi, etc.) but rather to a way of looking at media in terms of the character of its social interactivity. What kinds of sociality emerge through contemporary transmedia phenomena? How do social connections transform the meaning and uses of media? In what ways does media hinder or facilitate social movements?
Our emphasis on cultural action draws attention to the ways media is no longer something we simply listen to, watch or consume, but rather media is now something we do. Given the the importance of blogs, Tweets, postings, news updates, etc., we can see that the analysis of the “cultural meaning” of media objects must take new forms. Meaning is not contained inside an apparatus of affordances, but rather emerges through social practices, whether participatory or hierarchical, that must be grasped through an understanding of the nuances of the value of social connection. In other words, we are interested in the ways media can be a vehicle for cultural action through collective practice.
Both “action” and “the social,” therefore, become ways of rethinking what scholarly analysis can tell us about the media transformations affecting society today. By considering Japan as an alternative media world, we also hope to problematize some ethnocentric assumptions of media analysis.
event highlights
Mobile Gaming in Japan: The First 10 Years and What Comes Next
Ryo Shimizu (CEO, Tokyo’s Ubiquitous Entertainment Inc. & Director, Akihabara Research Center)
Eric McEver (Technical Evangelist, Akihabara Research Center)
Free and open to the public.
Date: Thursday March 1, 2012
Time: 1:30-2:30 PM
Location: 14N-217 (MIT)
 J-Horror Performance |
J-Horror Theater Performance: Hoichi the Earless
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A performace of Hoichi the Earless, presented by Japan Foundation New York in conjunction with the Japan-US Cherry Blossom Centennial.
Free and open to the public.
Date: Tuesday February 28, 2012
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Simmons Hall (MIT Building W79)
 Fandom Unbound |
Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World
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A lecture with Professor Mimi Ito (UC Irvine) with disscuant Ian Condry (MIT)
Date: Wednesday November 16, 2011
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: E14-633 (MIT)
Brainstorming session to discuss future collaborations with Crypton Future Entertainment
Come join in a discussion of possible collaborations between Crypton Future Entertainment and area students and faculty.
RSVP required to attend brainstorming session. Please contact Prof. Ian Condry at condry@mit.edu
Date: Wednesday October 19, 2011
Time: 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Location: TBD (MIT)
"Miku, Virtual Idol, as Media Platform: Transforming Media Creativity"
Keynote lecture: Hiroyuki Itoh (president and CEO of Crypton Future Entertainment)
with additional comments by:
Toshihiro Fukuoka (Editor, Tokyo Kawaii Magazine and ASCII Weekly)
Ryotaro Mihara (Deputy Director, Creative Industries, METI)
Ian Condry (Associate Professor, Comparative Media Studies, MIT)
Date: Tuesday October 18, 2011
Time: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: E51-345 (MIT)
 Miku Miku |
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Discussion and concert film screening featuring:
Ryotaro Mihara (Deputy Director, Creative Industries Division, Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry [Japan])
Masataka-P (producer of Miku songs and videos)
Ian Condry (MIT, moderator)
Date: Monday October 17, 2011
Time: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: 4-136 (MIT)
CULTURAL ACTION DJ PARTY
with our friends at Beat Research
DJ Toshiya the Tribal (global/tribal/techno stylings)
DJ Ian Condry (Japanese hip-hop mega mix)
Wayne & Wax and DJ Flack (http://beatresearch.com)
Date: Monday February 21, 2011
Time: 9:00 PM - 1:00 AM
Location:
The Enormous Room
569 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
 Cultural Action |
CULTURAL ACTION: Frontier or Archipelagos?
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Toshiya Ueno (Wako University)
"Avant-Garde Ethnography: Hanada Kiyoteru and the Circle Movement in Japan"
Wayne Marshall (MIT)
"Clowning Around with SoundCloud"
Ian Condry (MIT)
"Virtual Idols, Social Media, and Digital Japan"
Date: Tuesday February 22, 2011
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 PM
Location: 14E-304 (MIT)
about cool japan
Since January 2006, Professor Ian Condry has organized the Cool Japan: Media, Culture, Technology Research Project at MIT and Harvard. The project presents colloquia, international conferences, and arts events to examine the cultural connections, dangerous distortions, and critical potential of popular culture. The goal is to encourage scholarly debate, research, and networking in the Boston area for faculty and students interested in media and globalization related to Japan. The project is sponsored by the MIT Japan Program, the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University, MIT Foreign Languages & Literatures and MIT Comparative Media Studies.