Structure of the Course - Introduction to the course: key concepts, learning goals, elearning platform, readings, and assessment method. Group formation and assignment of group tasks. - Beyond Censorship: Public Opinion Control in the Internet Age. - Social Media Theory: Concepts and Trends. - Blogging for Social Change: Theory & Practice from the Blog Age to WeChat. - Creative Industries, Cultural Entrepreneurs and Celebrity Culture. - Fandom and Activism in the Chinese Cyberspace. - Memes, New Media and Vernacular Creativity. - "Artificial Intelligence" in New Media: Practice and Governance. - Internet and New Media Art as Counterculture. - Student Presentations. - Conclusion, portfolio clinic, and wrapup of the course
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In this course students will familiarise themselves with key concepts and theories of new media while examining case studies from China and learning about cutting-edge research on internet-mediated communication and creativity. Home of over one-fifth of the world's internet users and new media giants like Tencent and Alibaba, and birthplace of a generation-defining global app such as TikTok/Douyin and the super-app WeChat/Weixin, China is also ruled by a party-state that sees the control of public opinion as a top priority and has identified native media technologies and creative industries as key to the country's international clout and future economic development. As a result, 21st-century China is an unavoidable testing ground for theories of internet-mediated communication, cybercultures, virtual community, and online participation. Issues explored in this course include fandom and online activism, the network society, transmediality, new censorship technologies, AI governance, the circulation of memes, and online countercultures. The course will provide students with the theoretical and conceptual toolkit to dive into the landscape of global new media and understand the unique challenges and world-leading innovations of the Chinese case.
Learning Objectives - Knowledge of key theories and concepts related to new media, social media, fandom and celebrity, censorship and the creative industries; - knowledge of the institutional and socio-cultural context of new media in 21st-century China; - skills to identify, critically evaluate and employ relevant sources; - practical competences, including presenting in front of an audience, research and writing teamwork, and in class discussion.
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