Speaker: KYLE PETERS, Reischauer Institute Postdoctoral Fellow (PhD East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Philosophy, University of Chicago 2022)

Moderator: SHIGEHISA KURIYAMA, Reischauer Institute Professor of Japanese Cultural History, Harvard University

Summary:

This presentation takes as its topic the intersection of media theory and social movements in 1930s Japan. Focusing on the collective possibilities of print culture in this period, it foregrounds the work of Nakai Masakazu, an understudied Kyoto School philosopher and media theorist, as it connects with three Nakai-associated print materials circulating in Kyoto in this period: Bi-Hihyō (美・批評, Aesthetics & Criticism), Sekai Bunka (世界文化, World Culture), and Doyōbi (土曜日, Saturday). In doing so, the aim of this talk is twofold: first, to show the ways that Nakai's media practices intersected with and were informed by his media theory as it responded to the socio-technological situation of 1930s Japan; and second, to look at his social and media theory on its own terms, and explore the ways in which it offers insights into contemporary issues that we face today.

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Please register here to attend virtually via Zoom

In-person event location: Room S354, Third Level, CGIS South Bldg., 1730 Cambridge St.

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Reischauer Institute Japan Forum