Deciphering Society from the Objects and TechnologiesEmbedded in Urban Space

2019/04/01

The Major in Sociology at the Faculty of Letters, Keio University, is distinguished by its composition of three fields: sociology, social psychology, and cultural anthropology. By studying these three perspectives in a cross-disciplinary manner, the program aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of human social life.

I refer to my research field as "urban spatial theory" or "the socio-technical history of cities." I use these terms depending on the context. On the one hand, when focusing on the characteristics of contemporary urban space, I use the label "urban spatial theory." On the other hand, when historically examining the formation process of the foundational technologies that support the urban environment, I call it "the socio-technical history of cities."

My research is modeled on the work of German thinkers, sociologists, and social historians such as W. Benjamin, G. Simmel, and W. Schivelbusch. They demonstrated a common style of thinking, delving deep into seemingly trivial phenomena—such as the *passages* (arcades made of iron and glass), picture frames, or the cushions of train seats—to uncover hidden paradigm shifts in collective perception and imagination. I was fascinated by their masterful approach and wanted to try my hand at similar work.

As a basic stance in my research, I want to carry on their slightly unconventional attitude, so I try to choose research themes that are not mainstream and might make people think, "What's that about?"

For example, when examining the current urban landscape where replicable consumer apparatuses like shopping malls and convenience stores are proliferating, the conventional stance for a typical sociologist would be to villainize these apparatuses and lament the homogenization of every place. In contrast, I believe it is better to assess more neutrally what these replicated spaces bring and how the contemporary urban landscape is changing, rather than uniformly treating them as villains. This problem-setting is conscious of Benjamin's position, who argued against the old guard—who saw reproductive technologies like photography and film as degrading art—that, on the contrary, these technologies also opened up new possibilities for artistic experience.

In my socio-technical historical research, I have dealt with subjects such as "subways," "underground shopping arcades," "streetlights," "air conditioners," "utility poles," and "transmission towers." In sociology, the main focus is usually on people's social activities, and there is a tendency to downplay urban spaces, devices, and technologies as mere containers, environments, or backdrops for these activities. However, I believe that these self-evident spaces, devices, and technologies that constitute our environment have the unconscious habits of the "society" we form woven into them. By deciphering them, it may be possible to retroactively deduce the current state of "society."

The more one reduces the urban spaces where people live their lives to the sterile dimension of things, the more the human touch unexpectedly emerges—this is the kind of "urban spatial theory" and "socio-technical history of cities" I am aiming for.