Books etc

In this chapter, we present how Arts-Based Research (ABR) practices are delivered and what types of outcomes are produced at Keio University's undergraduate and graduate schools. The ABR Lab at Keio University since 2015 is the only one in the Japanese social sciences to include ABR in its curriculum. The sociological themes of community creation and empowerment of communities and individuals, and also the search for a new way of life in emotion-management society are at the heart of ABR practices in Keio University.

Keio University is the only university in Japan to offer an undergraduate and graduate major in sociological arts-led research (performative sociology, Performative Social Science) practice. Here we introduce some of the actions and dissertations that have taken place there. A dozen video cameras were used to film 24 hours of the anniversary in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park, and the physical sensory system of the day was recreated in miniature. This video installation goes beyond the master narrative of Hiroshima. There will also be a class where a team of students will tell their personal life story as a theatre piece to another other person. The re-enactment of life through performance has the effect of empowerment, as it is expressed to others in a collaborative way.