Idology in Transcultural Perspective: Anthropological Investigations of Popular Idolatry

by Aoyagi Hiroshi (Editor), Patrick W. Galbraith (Editor), Mateja Kovacic (Editor)

Overview

This edited volume expands on what Aoyagi Hiroshi intended in the first decade of the new millennium to establish as a subfield of symbolic anthropology called “idology.” It brings together case studies of popular idolatry in Japan, but goes further to provide a transcultural perspective to guide anthropological investigations in different places and times. In proposing an integrated paradigm for the growing body of literature on idols, the volume redirects recurrent questions to more fundamental points of sociocultural inquiry. Contributions from scholars conducting ethnographic fieldwork, as well as those engaged in theoretical and historical analyses, facilitate comparative reading and critical thought. Exceeding a narrow focus on human idols, the chapters shed new light on virtual idols and YouTubers, cartoon characters and voices, robot idols and cybernetic systems. Science and technology studies thus comes together with theories of animation and anthropological work on life inmore-than-human worlds.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030826796
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	12/13/2021
Edition description:	1st ed. 2021
Pages:	302
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Aoyagi Hiroshi is Professor in the School of Asia 21 at Kokushikan University in Tokyo. He is the author of Islands of Eight Million Smiles: Idol Performance and Symbolic Production in Contemporary Japan (Harvard University Asia Center, 2005).

Patrick W. Galbraith is Associate Professor in the School of International Communication at Senshū University in Tokyo. He is the author and editor of many books on Japanese media and popular culture.

Mateja Kovacic is Assistant Professor in the Animation and Media Arts program, Academy of Film, School of Communication, at Hong Kong Baptist University. She researches intersections between science, technology and popular culture.

Table of Contents

1. Idology in Transcultural Perspective: Anthropological Investigations of Popular Idolatry.- 2. On Popular Idolatry: A Reflexive Symbological Spin.- 3. Idols that Speak: How Psyche and Material Culture Co-construct Each Other.- 4. Idol Economics: Television, Affective and Virtual Models in Japan.- 5. Cyborg in Idology Studies: Symbiosis of Animating Humans and Machines.- 6. The “Ultimate Athlete:” Bruce Lee, Martial Arts and the Pursuit of Human Perfection.- 7. Idolization of Miyazaki Ken Local Mascots and Himukaizer Local Heroes: The Animate Spirits of Miyazaki, Japan.- 8. Sacralize a Digital Character to Enhance Its Charm? Japanese Love Games and Female Fan Strategy.- 9. “He Is My Precious:” The Cross-Referential Consumption and Use of “2.5-D” Idols in the King of Prism “Ōenjōei” Screening Series.- 10. Love Live! as an Affective-Religious Medium in the Postsecular Era.- 11. Idolatry and Mediumship: Topologies of Affect in Japanese Media Culture.