Download Understanding the Cultural Landscape of China

Understanding the Cultural Landscape of China:
Orchestra of Chinese Dream, Soft Power, Global Community
from the Perspective of New Media
Guest Lecturer/Visiting Scholar: JIANG Fei (Ph.D)
Professor, Director for Department of Communication Studies
Institute of Journalism & Communication, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)
Secretary General for Communication Association of China
Date: Feb 13-March 3, 2017
Short Description:
“The new world is increasingly Sino-centric.” With the rapid economic growth in the past 20
years, China has become more and more important on the world stage. In 2010 China
overtook Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy, and the International
Monetary Fund predicts that it will overtake the United States, to become the world’s largest
economy by 2016. By becoming the global center of manufacturing, and the hub of the global
supply chain, a global shift of power seems to be moving eastwards, towards the rising
economies of Asia, where China is using its growing economic competence as a strategic tool
to play both on the global commercial stage and the global political platform.
But the understanding about China in the international society still remain limited, as a
mystery of 5000 years of history and cultural heritage; a social mixture of 56 ethnic groups,
different regions and religions; a huge population of 1.4 billion people among which the trend
of urbanization has leaded a meteoric rise of “middle income” class; a complexity between
the free market and the centered political dominant power, and a paradox struggling between
the tradition and the modernity, China itself has too many different layers for the outsiders to
observe.
Under this “Sino centric” trend, many researchers are looking towards to China. In the domain
of media, communication and culture studies, different research projects were carrying out
every year for an updated knowledge according to the dramatic changes evolving in China.
During the past 30 years since Communication Studies introduced to China, a transmission
view of communication has leaded both the academic research and media practice in China,
which viewed communication as a process of information publication and transmission, and a
distribution, combination and control of power. James W.Carey (1934-2006) had provided
another ritual view of communication that recognized the process of communication as a
shared, participated and joint behavior, as well as a cultural ceremony of producing,
maintaining and repairing the collective cultural identity.
In China, along with the rapid development of the new media in recent years, the Chinese
communication studies and social culture has experienced a big change. Thus, how to reevaluate different concept of communication, how to promote a health development of the
communication research in China that can contribute to the academic field worldwide,
became a new topic and play a crucial role in understanding what’s going on in China.
The situation of the communication studies in China nowadays is very similar to the “spring
time” of the communication studies in America during 1970s. The 30 years growth of
communication studies gradually stepped into the front as a scientific discipline, and became
a very important angle to observe and understand China’s development. Besides, researchers
also discovered that in 2013, there are several keywords related with communication studies
in China, i.e. Chinese Dream, Soft Power, Community construction, Culture Renaissances,
Politic Communication and New Media, etc. These keywords outlined a logic connection of
the contemporary culture and communication in China: the growth of the new media played
as the technologic motive and support, the Chinese dream played as a superstructure
construction of culture and ideals, the culture renaissances played as a main actor improving
the community communication through the new media, and the soft power strategy played
as a role to enhance amelioration of politic discourse and political communication capability.
Early in 1955, Edward T.Hall mentioned in The Silent Languagethat, culture is communication
and communication is culture. He outlined a broad theory of culture, identified the
constituents of cultural set, and also indicated the cultural character of mass media and its
influence to our everyday life. China, as an old continent with thousands of years cultural
heritage but also a new country which is now experiencing its dramatic change in its body
(economy &society) and soul (politics&culture), the intercultural communication study of
China as an important case is very much necessary for both China and the outside world.
My contribution of this visiting, which titled as above will go through several aspects (as below)
to promote an active and mutual communication with France students and scholars on the
further understanding of China’s communication studies, China’s media system as well as the
Chinese culture in the modern interpretation.
Main topics include:
1. Policy and strategy:
（1）China's “Culture Industry Great Development" Strategy and Its Influence in Chinese
Media Market and Abroad
（2）Remapping or Remapped? Intercultural Interpretation of China’s Media-Going-out Policy
（3）Meeting in Africa of China and France: China’s Communication Programs in Africa
2. Media & culture
（4）Positioning (mass) media in China’s cultural-development-strategy.
（5）The game between Quan and Shi: How new media influence/conflict with China’s social
culture.
（6）Re-constructing the Cultural Identity of Community: A comparative analysis on the role
of community media in culture construction
3. Theory & Thoughts
（ 7 ） The Chinese interpretation of “Soft Power” from the perspective of intercultural
communication philosophy
（8）How BIG DATA Deepens the Knowledge Gap, but also Makes It Meaningless
Reading Materials:
Monroe Price, Jack Qiu, Jiang fei, Thomas Hollihan, and Zhan Zhang (2016), Roundtable
Disscussion of ‘Media Narratives and China’s Future’. In Global Media and China, first
published on June 1, 2016.
Fei jiang, Shubo Li, Helge Ronning & Elling Tjonneland (2016), The Voice of China in Africa:
Media, Communication Technologies and Image-building, Chinese Journal of Communication,
9:1, 1-7, DOL: 10.1080/17544750.2016.1141615.
Fei Jiang (2014), On the Three Waves of China’s Communication Studies: A Commemoration
of the 30th Anniversary of Schramm’s Visit to China & China’s Communication Studies in PostSchramm Times. Studies in Communication Sciences, Volume 13, 2014, PP. 107-116.
Fei Jiang and Kuo Huang (2013). Community Media in China: Communication, Digitalization,
and Relocation. Journal of International Communication. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group,
Volume 19 Issue 1, 2013.
Fei Jiang and Kuo Huang (2011). Transnational Media Corporations and National Culture as a
Security Concern in China. In V. Bajc & W. de Lint (Ed.), Security and Everyday Life (pp. 212235). New York: Routledge.
Fei Jiang and Kuo Huang (2009). Understanding Diaspora Cultures in the Context of
Globalization. The International Journal of the Humanities, 7(10), pp.115-130.