Guobin Yang's guest appearances

Guobin Yang

Harvard Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies

UPenn Center for the Study of Contemporary China

Kaiser Kuo

Mary Gallagher

Ian Johnson

Graham Allison

Evan Medeiros

James Mulvenon

Steven Goldstein

Rana Mitter

Samantha Power

Shelley Rigger

Sheena Greitens

Philippe Le Corre

John Pomfret

James Stent

Deborah Brautigam

OwlTail

Current headlines about how authoritarian regimes have come to harness and even weaponize the internet may obscure how this technology, at one time, was more typically understood to be a democratizing force, across a range of different contexts. In the early days of Chinese cyberspace, for example, popular expression on various internet forums seemed to herald a new stage in political activism, that was pressing the boundaries of traditional state control. In this episode, University of Pennsylvania Professor Guobin Yang, the preeminent scholar of the sociology of the internet in China, discusses with Neysun Mahboubi the evolution of social media platforms on the Chinese internet, over the past 20 years, and their changing political implications. The episode was recorded on March 1, 2018. Guobin Yang is the Grace Lee Boggs Professor of Communication and Sociology at the Annenberg School for Communication and the Department of Sociology, at the University of Pennsylvania.  His research generally covers social movements, cultural sociology, political sociology, digital media, global communication, and modern China. His prolific scholarship includes the classic "The Power of the Internet in China: Citizen Activism Online" (2009) and, more recently, "The Red Guard Generation and Political Activism in China" (2016). He is the editor or co-editor of four additional books which explore similar themes. He is also active on social media, and tweets at @Yangguobin.  Music credit: "Salt" by Poppy Ackroyd, follow her at http://poppyackroyd.com  Special thanks to Nick Marziani and Alex Schein

Current headlines about how authoritarian regimes have come to harness and even weaponize the internet may obscure how this technology, at one time, was more typically understood to be a democratizing force, across a range of different contexts. In the early days of Chinese cyberspace, for example, popular expression on various internet forums seemed to herald a new stage in political activism, that was pressing the boundaries of traditional state control. In this episode, University of Pennsylvania Professor <a href="https://www.asc.upenn.edu/people/faculty/guobin-yang-phd" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Guobin Yang</a>, the preeminent scholar of the sociology of the internet in China, discusses with <a href="https://cscc.sas.upenn.edu/people/Neysun_Mahboubi" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Neysun Mahboubi</a> the evolution of social media platforms on the Chinese internet, over the past 20 years, and their changing political implications. The episode was recorded on March 1, 2018. Guobin Yang is the Grace Lee Boggs Professor of Communication and Sociology at the Annenberg School for Communication and the Department of Sociology, at the University of Pennsylvania.  His research generally covers social movements, cultural sociology, political sociology, digital media, global communication, and modern China. His prolific scholarship includes the classic "<a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-power-of-the-internet-in-china/9780231144209" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Power of the Internet in China: Citizen Activism Online</a>" (2009) and, more recently, "<a href="https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-red-guard-generation-and-political-activism-in-china/9780231520485" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Red Guard Generation and Political Activism in China</a>" (2016). He is the editor or co-editor of four additional books which explore similar themes. He is also active on social media, and tweets at <a href="https://twitter.com/yangguobin" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@Yangguobin</a>.  Music credit: "<a href="https://poppy.bandcamp.com/track/salt" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Salt</a>" by Poppy Ackroyd, follow her at <a href="http://poppyackroyd.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">http://poppyackroyd.com</a> Special thanks to Nick Marziani and Alex Schein

Internet Culture and Politics in China – Guobin Yang

From 1966 to 1968, youth in urban China were embroiled in factional battles in what many of them believed to be a revolution of a lifetime. Guobin Yang explores how this factional violence was the result of the enactment of China's earlier revolutionary tradition, and how echoes of this tradition persist in online forums. Guobin Yang is the Grace Lee Boggs Professor of Sociology and Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and Department of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Yang’s research bridges the Cultural Revolution, critical social theory, social movements, activism, and media and politics in China. His recent books include, "The Power of the Internet in China" (2009), and "The Red Guard Generation and Political Activism in China" (2017), both from Columbia University Press. The "Harvard on China" podcast is hosted by James Evans at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies.

From 1966 to 1968, youth in urban China were embroiled in factional battles in what many of them believed to be a revolution of a lifetime. Guobin Yang explores how this factional violence was the result of the enactment of China's earlier revolutionary tradition, and how echoes of this tradition persist in online forums. Guobin Yang is the Grace Lee Boggs Professor of Sociology and Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and Department of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Yang’s research bridges the Cultural Revolution, critical social theory, social movements, activism, and media and politics in China. His recent books include, "The Power of the Internet in China" (2009), and "The Red Guard Generation and Political Activism in China" (2017), both from Columbia University Press. The "Harvard on China" podcast is hosted by James Evans at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies.

Revolution and Factionalism in China’s Cultural Revolution, with Guobin Yang