Internationalizing Communication Research
The Center for Communication Research aims to develop an internationally and regionally recognized program of research and publications at City University of Hong Kong, in the cutting-edge issues facing communication under the forces of technological convergence and media globalization in the Asian context. Hong Kong is nowadays one of the most important institutional and cultural bases for studying the whole Greater China region and the process and phenomenon of globalization at large. The Center hopes to provide a platform to gather an already existing critical mass of researchers in communication studies and discourse studies at the University, to facilitate exchanges and collaborations between communication researchers at different institutions in Greater China and beyond, as well as between the local and international communication research communities.
Communication research has primarily been Anglo-American -- which is very rich but amazingly parochial: the interest of U.S. media studies stops at the water's edge to the point that "international communication" means "non-U.S. communication," whereas British cultural studies also attempt to universalize Eurocentric insights. Both traditions have been insensitive to cultural differences, failing to explain the role of media and culture in the process of vast and rapid social transformation in the non-Western world.
The past decade has seen sporadic efforts to "de-Westernize" or "internationalize" communication studies; several core members of our team have published articles and books as active participants. Further, Professors Chin-Chuan Lee and Jonathan Zhu have served as the founding and sixth presidents of the Chinese Communication Association, respectively. We would like to take advantage of the critical mass in the newly established Center for Communication Research to articulate an intellectual voice from a cross-point between East and West.
Several projects are being developed to (a) redefine communication research from the vantage points of Asia, especially those of Greater China, in dialogue with the dominant scholarship; (b) set certain research agendas for our intellectual community; and (c) enrich research degree education in communication as a strategic area of development at the CityU; and (d) strengthen CityU's links with professional communication sectors.
Among these projects are
1. Redefining the field of "international communication" What is the current status of "international" communication? What is the role of "the cultural" in the landscape of international communication research? What theoretical, epistemological, and methodological contributions Chinese and Asian contexts are likely to make toward "internationalizing" communication research?
2. Cross-cultural conception of "public opinion" How were various categories of "min" (民)"the public," "people's opinions" and "public opinion" developed and transformed in relation to the historical process of sociopolitical struggle? How can we understand and articulate "public opinion" in the comparative China (ancient-Confucian, Republican, and Communist), Asian (Korean, Japanese and Singaporean), and Western (Anglo-American vs. German-French) contexts-and with what theoretical and empirical implications?
3. Transnational Flow of Asian Popular Culture What are the specific structures and modalities of popular culture production, circulation/marketing, and consumption among youth across Greater China and East Asian societies? We will focus on the forms of identification available for the different urban youth consumers, implications for media policy, as well as political, economic, and ideological effects of this "pan-Asian" cultural sphere on the region's cultural development.
4. Input, process, and outcome of getting published in mainstream communication journals by scholars in Greater China, Asia, and beyond. What motivates non-Anglo-American scholars to get published in mainstream English-language journals on communication? What special issues arise during the decision-making process in these journals?
Center for Communication Research
Room 2704, 7/F, To Yuen Building, 31 To Yuen Street,
Kowloon, Hong Kong
香港九龍桃源街31號桃源樓7樓2704室
Telephone: (852) 3442 6129
Fax: (852) 3442 0105
Email: ccr@cityu.edu.hk
| Comparative Visions: media and globalization in greater China | |
IntroductionThe media and globalization project is a large-scale comparative survey conducted in six cities in the Greater China region: Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Xian. This survey seeks to examine, among other things, how the Chinese people perceive globalization’s impacts on their Chinese communities, and how the mass media shape these perceptions. This survey has interviewed more than 3,000 individuals from the above six cities, thereby resulting in a rich dataset that informs the academic community of the dynamics between media and the Chinese public opinion about globalization. Part of the survey results have been presented at major international conferences and published in leading academic journals. This project team includes Prof. Chin-Chuan Lee, Dr. Zhou He, Dr. Mike Yao, Dr. Wan-Ying Lin and Dr. Francis Lee. (more) |
Perceptions of the US
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The Attitudes of Urban Chinese Towards Globalization: A Survey Study of Media Influence | |
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Table 1: Chinese citizens’ perceptions of the impact of globalization |
IntroductionSince Deng Xiaoping’s southern tour in 1992 to reenergize the marketization drive in China, the Chinese government’s policy towards “globalization” has been one of active engagement. His successor Jiang Zemin, and current President Hu Jintao, with their respective proclamations of “Three Represents” and “Harmonious World,” have continued the push to embrace global capitalism. Opening the country to global capital is seen by Chinese national leaders as a way to further the country’s market reform. At the same time, China has also been eager to participate in the international community in various manners to strengthen its international standing and portray itself as a peaceful rising power. Prompting nationalist sentiments in the global context is a way to restore the Communist regime from the brink of legitimacy crisis caused by the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989. (more) |
The positive dimensions include Good US Institutions and US World Leadership.
Note: The indices range from 1 to 5. All mean scores differ significantly from the mid-point
of the scale in one-sample t-tests (p < .05). Mean scores sharing the same subscript (i.e., the subscript a, b and c in the above table) do not differ from each other in pairedsamples t-tests. Otherwise, they differ from each other at p < .05. N = 1999.COM to Collaborate with Tokyo University on Research
The Department is concluding an agreement on research collaboration with the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies at the prestigious University of Tokyo. "We are looking forward to starting a network of productive relationships with leading institutions in Asia," said Professor Lee Chin-Chuan, in referring to this new initiative he has helped bring to fruition. (more)
Professor Lee Invited to Lecture
CCR Director Professor Lee Chin-Chuan has been invited to give lectures in the Academic Year 2008-09 at Lund University, Sweden; Central European University, Hungary; Rikkyo University, Japan; Chaotung University, Taiwan; Fudan Unviersity and Renmin University, China. From 29 to 30 October 2009 he will represent the CCR and the Department of Media and Communication to deliver a keynote speech to a symposium sponsored by the University of Tokyo. (more)
"The Learned Club" Enjoys Fellowship and Ideas in Kunming
About 30 young communication scholars from Greater China will meet in Kunming on the campus of Yunnan Normal University on 11-12 August 2009 to discuss current research of mutual interest. (more)
Asia-Pacific Internet Users Top the World
Acting Provost Professor C. H. Chan praised the conference of the Asia-Pacific Internet Research Alliance (APIRA) as "significant to the CityU's goal to strive for a dialogue between science and humanities." The conference was held on 6-7 August 2009. (more)
Conference on Modern Chinese Press History to be Held in early December
The Center for Communication Research (CCR), in collaboration with the Department of Media and Communication, will host the second conference on modern Chinese press from 4-5 December 2009. It will focus on the concept and practice of press freedom in modern China. (more)