GENEsYs Events

Images are not merely a research tool for ethnographers. Visuality has come to play a significant part in the everyday lives of our interlocutors. On the one hand, through the performance and display of self and collective identities, youths convey their agency, be it in virtual or physical space. On the other hand, visibility may put one at risk in more authoritarian contexts. In this sense, the selection in this exhibition also reflect the researchers’ responsibility towards those they work with. This reminds us that behind the taxonomies assigned through scholarly work (“Asian youth”) are flesh-and-blood, singular individuals embedded in complex webs of social relations.

From Tuesday 25th May to Tuesday 15th June 2021, 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

The GENEsYs Final Conference "East Asian Youth in Public Spaces" is available to rewatch on the MSH Youtube Channel.

Day 1.

Day 2.

Full program available here.

Chair: Frederik Ponjaert, Université libre de Bruxelles (REPI)
Abstract: Despite a constitutional ban on maintaining war potential, Japan has possessed a de facto military since the 1950’s – the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). For much of Japan’s postwar history, the JSDF kept a low profile, avoiding actions that could prompt negative reactions from a public that was extremely weary of militarism and war. In recent decades, the JSDF has increased its engagement with the Japanese public. These efforts have included recruitment campaigns that utilize famous celebrities as well as the creation of educational comic books. These JSDF-produced works avoided politically controversial topics and tended to downplay the physically demanding and violent aspects of military life. A similar pattern is observable in the JSDF’s collaborations with the private film industry, which were primarily limited to movies in which Japan used military force against giant kaiju monsters, rather than human beings.

Public lecture by Jeffrey J. Hall (Waseda University & MSH/EASt-ULB Visiting Professor) in the framework of Prof. Thierry Kellner's course on China's foreign policy
Jeffrey J. Hall is an Assistant Professor at Waseda University’s Global Asia Research Center. He is a specialist on Japanese politics and society, and has taught at Hosei University, Meiji Gakuin, Tsukuba University, and Japan’s National Defense Academy. Prof. Hall has an M.A. and PhD in International Relations from Waseda University, and a B.A. in History from the George Washington University.

Lucas De Man is a creator, concept developer, presenter, guest chairman, playwright and director. He is the founder and artistic director of Stichting Nieuwe Helden and presenter of the AvroTros programme Kunstuur. He also gives lectures and makes appearances as a host, presenter and guest chairman.

• Seio Nakajima, Waseda University: The Sociality of Millennialsin Cyberspace: A Comparative Study of Barrage Subtitling in Bilibiliand Niconico2)
• Vanessa Frangville, Université libre de Bruxelles: Performing Contemporary Uyghur Culture Online: “Anar Pishti” Web-series
• Gwennaël Gaffric, Université Libre de Bruxelles: Virtual Worlds in Virtual Spaces: The Emergence of “Chuanyue”Fiction
• Hua Bin, Université Libre de Bruxelles: Cosplay in the Chinese Cyberspace: Exchange, Performance and Commercialization through Online Communities and Online Video Platforms