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Thesis Title: Struggle as value: Exploring the thematic importance of 'seishun' in Japanese idol music.

Academic Supervisor: Dr Thomas McAuley, Dr Kate Taylor-Jones

My research aims to explore the history and continued significance of the theme of "Seishun" (adolescence, youth) in the music of Japanese pop performers known as 'Idols'.

I will argue that the idea of "Seishun" as a struggle with value reinforces ideas about what it mans to be 'Japanese'in contemporary Japan.

I will achieve this through a multi-method approach, combining analysis of lyrics and conversations with producers and consumers.

Conference presentations

• Where is the "Japanese Wave"? - Fourth International Conference on Communication and Media Studies. University of Bonn, 25th- 28th September 2019
• Namie Amuro: Japan’s diva of the post-modern era - Diva: Hip-Hop, Feminism, Fierceness symposium. University of Wolverhampton, 17th July, 2019
• The Bubble Economy in Japanese Popular Music - British Association for Japanese Studies (BAJS) Conference 2018
• Translation workshop participant- 'Murakami, Contemporary Japanese Writing and the English-reading Marketplace'. Newcastle University, 6th-7th March, 2018