November 19th       Saturday

令和4年11月19日 （土）

9:45-18:30

Kyoto University, Yoshida South Campus, Building 1, room 24

京都大学・吉田南１号館・１共２４演習室

Organized by the Everydayness Research Group

Language: English and Japanese

One of the practical questions we are interested in discussing is what are the narratives that mobilize social movements, both left and right. Furthermore, in this workshop, we will also focus on the following questions: What kind of roles do political myths play today? Moreover, is it licit to speak of “myths” in an era where Twitter and social networks play a central role in the distribution of information? What is the difference between “myths”, “slogans”, “fake news”?

本ワークショップは、左翼・右翼を問わず、社会運動を動員するナラティブとは何かという実践的な問いを焦点化するものです。また、本研究会では以下の論点についても議論します。すなわち、今日において、政治的神話はいかなる役割を果たしているでしょうか。さらに、ツイッターのようなSNSが情報流通の中心的役割を果たす時代に、「神話」を語ることは妥当と言えるでしょうか。「神話」、「スローガン」、「フェイクニュース」の違いは何なのでしょうか。

Populism is usually thought of as based on the figure of a charismatic leader who functions as a Signifier in capital letters, guiding and manipulating the rest of the electorate. Is it also possible to investigate the production of myths and narratives “from below”? Both right-wing and left-wing movements can be “popular” and can receive support from the most economically vulnerable strata of society. Is there still a place for revolutionary myths or is all political fiction tied to dominant power, irrationalism and being an instrument of real power?

This program is managed by the Center for the Promotion of Interdisciplinary Education and Research (CPIER) and the Kyoto University Research Administration Office (KURA) and supported by the MEXT-sponsored program for promoting the enhancement of research universities (Kyoto University).

Site: https://research.kyoto-u.ac.jp/workshop/w108/

9:45-10:00    Welcome words, presentation

10:00-11:00    Panel 1: Masataka OKI (Independent researcher), “Toward an Introspective Analysis of the Need for a Myth. Revisiting the Theories of Imagination in Early Modern Political Thought”

11:00-12:00    Panel 2: Dennis STROMBACK (Temple University), “Populism ≠ Not Populism = Populism: Asserting Populism through Negating Populism from the Standpoint of El Pueblo”

12:00-13:00    Lunch

13:00-14:00    Panel 3: Nathaniel M. SMITH (Ritsumeikan University), “Martyrdom and Lionization of Activists on the Right in Japan”

14:00-15:00    Panel 4: Lisa TORIO (Kyoto University), “The Spirit of Abstraction and the ‘Mass Man’: Exploring the Possibilities and Limits of Collective Movements Through Gabriel Marcel’s Philosophy”

15:15-15:30    Break

15:30-16:30    Panel 5: Pedro ERBER (Waseda University), “Bolsonaro’s Brazil and Neoliberalism as Political Mythology”

16:30:17:30    Panel 6: Hizumi KOMINE (Independent researcher), 「お笑いとポピュリズム―TVディレクター・吉村誠の場合―」[In Japanese]

17:30-18:30    General Discussion

Moderation: Fernando WIRTZ and Nobuyuki MATSUI

You can access the videos of the talks HERE