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Transnational Voices or Self-serving Activists?: The Portrayal and Legitimation of Public Intellectuals in Japanese Newspapers Author:

Virtanen, Milja (2016) ACET35
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
The primary concern of this study was to analyze how the Japanese print media portray modern-day public intellectuals, and subsequently treat them as legitimate or illegitimate. Furthermore, I examined the underlying factors that affect this portrayal. After selecting four case studies of present-day public figures/groups (Murakami Haruki, Miyazaki Hayao, Chim↑Pom and Aida Makoto), I collected primary data from the news coverage of recent events involving these figures in three leading Japanese newspapers: the Asahi Shimbun, the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Sankei Shimbun. A theoretical framework based on the concept of legitimacy, the media’s role as legitimators and the intellectual’s perceived role was used to analyze the data by discourse... (More)
The primary concern of this study was to analyze how the Japanese print media portray modern-day public intellectuals, and subsequently treat them as legitimate or illegitimate. Furthermore, I examined the underlying factors that affect this portrayal. After selecting four case studies of present-day public figures/groups (Murakami Haruki, Miyazaki Hayao, Chim↑Pom and Aida Makoto), I collected primary data from the news coverage of recent events involving these figures in three leading Japanese newspapers: the Asahi Shimbun, the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Sankei Shimbun. A theoretical framework based on the concept of legitimacy, the media’s role as legitimators and the intellectual’s perceived role was used to analyze the data by discourse analysis. The analysis found that the newspapers’ ideological stance influenced underlying moral ideas of “the proper intellectual”, these ideas being mutually exclusive across the studied media. Furthermore, an ideological divide significantly influenced the portrayal of public intellectuals discussing topics relating to Japan’s unresolved wartime history. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Virtanen, Milja
supervisor
organization
course
ACET35
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Public intellectuals, Discourse, Japanese newspapers, Legitimacy, Ideology, Japan
language
English
id
8888963
date added to LUP
2016-08-19 16:09:56
date last changed
2016-08-19 16:09:56
@misc{8888963,
  abstract     = {{The primary concern of this study was to analyze how the Japanese print media portray modern-day public intellectuals, and subsequently treat them as legitimate or illegitimate. Furthermore, I examined the underlying factors that affect this portrayal. After selecting four case studies of present-day public figures/groups (Murakami Haruki, Miyazaki Hayao, Chim↑Pom and Aida Makoto), I collected primary data from the news coverage of recent events involving these figures in three leading Japanese newspapers: the Asahi Shimbun, the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Sankei Shimbun. A theoretical framework based on the concept of legitimacy, the media’s role as legitimators and the intellectual’s perceived role was used to analyze the data by discourse analysis. The analysis found that the newspapers’ ideological stance influenced underlying moral ideas of “the proper intellectual”, these ideas being mutually exclusive across the studied media. Furthermore, an ideological divide significantly influenced the portrayal of public intellectuals discussing topics relating to Japan’s unresolved wartime history.}},
  author       = {{Virtanen, Milja}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Transnational Voices or Self-serving Activists?: The Portrayal and Legitimation of Public Intellectuals in Japanese Newspapers Author:}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}