A Critical Reconceptualization of “Region” in Social Education: Capturing the Formation of Affective Connections through Popular Culture

Abstract

  This study aims to establish a theoretical foundation for social education to encompass cultural practices unbound by specific geographical locales, through a critical reconceptualization of the “region” concept traditionally invoked in discourses on cultural activities. Conventional approaches to social education have prioritized “regional culture” and “traditional culture,” assuming geographically delimited communities. However, this framework struggles to accommodate the affective and translocal aspects of contemporary cultural practices. In the theoretical analysis, the paper recontextualizes Kitada Kōya’s theory of popular culture in conversation with recent scholarship on everyday aesthetics, which centers on sensibility and affective bonds. Through this lens, “region” emerges as a dynamic spatio-temporal arena, interlaced by individuals’ sensibilities and practices. In the ensuing empirical inquiry, this framework is applied to the idol group Batten Girls (Batten Shōjo-tai), situated in a provincial city, to examine how manifestations of popular music, performance, and fan engagement facilitate the reconfiguration of regional culture and the forging of novel communal ties. Collectively, these analyses highlight the imperative for social education to engage interdisciplinarily with other fields to more fully apprehend cultural phenomena.