BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//events.la.psu.edu//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20201101T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20200308T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:14892-054d4361bd217d09ea40d7ff04c6e6b4@events.la.psu.edu DTSTAMP:20260417T130549Z DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250320T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250320T170000 SUMMARY:“Samurai, Blerds, and Otaku Hot Girls: Mediating Afro-Japanese Encounter s from Yasuke to Megan Thee Stallion” DESCRIPTION:\nIn this talk\, I discuss the representations of Afro-Japan ese encounters in digital culture using the case studies of Yasuke and M egan Thee Stallion. Yasuke\, a historical figure and Black African samur ai\, has increasingly become the subject of media representation\, most recently in his casting as the protagonist in the newest installment of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Megan Thee Stallion\, a Black American r apper and fan of anime\, has become a representative of Black fans of Ja panese popular culture especially following the release of the hit singl es “Mamushi” (featuring Japanese rapper Yuki Chiba) and “Otaku Hot Girl. ” Although both Yasuke and Megan Thee Stallion embody different temporal ities and contexts\, the similarities in their reception among social me dia users demonstrate that while digital representations of Afro-Japanes e encounters can be celebratory and foster the development of transnatio nal Black digital networks\, such representations can also exacerbate an ti-Blackness\, fetishization\, ethno-nationalism\, and misogynoir. In an alyzing digital discourse pertaining to these figures\, I advocate for t he integration of approaches from critical digital studies and Global As ias in research on contemporary Japanese society and popular culture.\n\ nKimberly Hassel is a sociocultural anthropologist and digital ethnograp her specializing in digital culture\, youth culture\, diaspora\, contemp orary Japanese society\, and Afro-Japanese encounters. Her current book project\, tentatively titled Intimate Solitudes and Solidarities: Digita l Sociality\, Youth Culture\, and Identity in Contemporary Japan\, exami nes the relationships between social networking services\, smartphones\, and shifting notions of sociality and selfhood among young people in Ja pan in the period immediately prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. \n\nFor more details: https://events.la.psu.edu/event/mediating-afro-jap anese-encounters/ X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

In this talk, I discuss the representations of Afro-Japanese encounters in digital cult ure using the case studies of Yasuke and Megan Thee Stallion. Yasuke, a historical figure and Black African samurai, has increasingly become the subject of media representation, most recently in his casting as the pr otagonist in the newest installment of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. M egan Thee Stallion, a Black American rapper and fan of anime, has become a representative of Black fans of Japanese popular culture especially f ollowing the release of the hit singles “Mamushi” (featuring Japanese ra pper Yuki Chiba) and “Otaku Hot Girl.” Although both Yasuke and Megan Th ee Stallion embody different temporalities and contexts, the similaritie s in their reception among social media users demonstrate that while dig ital representations of Afro-Japanese encounters can be celebratory and foster the development of transnational Black digital networks, such rep resentations can also exacerbate anti-Blackness, fetishization, ethno-na tionalism, and misogynoir. In analyzing digital discourse pertaining to these figures, I advocate for the integration of approaches from critica l digital studies and Global Asias in research on contemporary Japanese society and popular culture.

Kimberly Hassel is a sociocultural an thropologist and digital ethnographer specializing in digital culture, y outh culture, diaspora, contemporary Japanese society, and Afro-Japanese encounters. Her current book project, tentatively titled Intimate S olitudes and Solidarities: Digital Sociality, Youth Culture, and Identit y in Contemporary Japan, examines the relationships between social networking services, smartphones, and shifting notions of sociality and selfhood among young people in Japan in the period immediately prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more details: https:// events.la.psu.edu/event/mediating-afro-japanese-encounters/

LOCATION:124 Sparks Building END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR