Full Description
This book examines the use and culture of digital media in Chinese cities. By examining examples and data from Chinese and global social media platforms, the book argues that digital media facilitate Chinese people's sense of local self and local identity. In doing so, the book moves on from the polarised debate regarding the democratic function of Chinese internet to instead examine the connection between digital technologies and the country's history, culture and eventually, people and their everyday lives. It offers a rich analysis of a Chinese city in the digital age, and challenges the nationalistic approach to study China's digital media culture.
Contents
Introduction: Place, Locality and Digital Media in China
1. Minjian Society: Identity, Culture and Digital Media
2. Two Tales of One City: Across the State and Commoners
3. Bodily Practice: Digitizing the Guangzhou Body
4. Geographical Knowledge: Reproducing Guangzhou
5. Opinion Leadership: Reconfiguring the City-Nation Dialectic
Conclusion: From Guangzhou to China: Rethinking Digital Media Research of China
Appendix: Notes on Methods
References
