We invite book chapter proposals to be included in a forthcoming volume entitled “National Identity and Millenials in Japan and China: Power and Contestations in the Digital Age” to be published with Routledge (Contemporary Asian Societies Collection).

As Northeast Asian societies and States seek to come to terms with massive transformations - be they demographic, economic, technological or cultural - national identities have come into flux, as socio-economic certainties have waned. This has resulted in ever more prominent and emotional debates surrounding notions of history, belonging, memory, and pride. Younger generations in China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan play an increasingly important role in shaping these debates. This collective project seeks to explore the intersection between national identity formation and youth culture in Northeast Asia by focusing on (1) official discourses, (2) popular (visual) culture, and (3) digital spaces as critical venues for constructing collective identities and shaping political cultures among the young.

The project will unpack recent trends in reproducing and contesting national identities through, for instance, representing collective memories, debating global politics, and formulating alternative narratives within the respective national contexts of Northeast Asian countries. Ultimately, the project also hopes to cross and confront the findings to reflect on whether one can speak of East Asian specificities of millennial culture and identities within the context of globalization.

We invite chapter proposals that explore a wide variety of topics such as:

• official discourses & state sanctioned platforms which contribute towards the construction of collective identities and especially political identities of the young in Northeast Asia. Such platforms include for example national education, state media, and discourses of domestic politics and foreign policy.
• popular cultural artifacts, with a special focus on visual mediums, which have popularized nationalist consciousness and feelings among the young in Northeast Asia. Popular cultural products under examination can include manga, video games, documentary films and TV shows, for instance.
• the rapid development of online communication that gave rise to multifaceted expressions of collective identities and innovative forms of mobilization in the digital spaces. Contributors may look at not only the link between grassroots expressions of nationalist sentiments and youth identities, but also a range of political discourses related to regime legitimacy, gender, extremism, and social activism that have emerged in the cyberspace in Northeast Asia.

Please send a 300-500 word proposal, project title and a brief biography in English by 6 January 2022

To: vanessa.frangville@ulb.be - Frederik.ponjaert@ulb.be - Thierry.kellner@ulb.be

Notification of acceptance and guidelines will be sent by 9 January 2022. The deadline for chapter submission is 28 February 2022.

For more information, contact us or check our website GENEsYs, and our Routledge Collection