ChinaTalks: Professor Wei Ran

Assessing the Status of Communication Research in Asia: General trends, enduring Issues and new opportunities

By Ran Wei is Gonzales Brothers Professor of Journalism in the School of Journalism & Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina

Abstract

The 21st century has been called “the Asian Century” by Eastern and Western academics, largely due to the economic and cultural rise of China. What exactly does this mean for communication research? What are the implications for communication scholars in an era of rising global power, technology and international diplomacy? In this talk I will assess the general trends, breakthroughs and enduring challenges in communications research across Asian nations during the dawn of the “Asian Century.” I will also compare the communication research about China with the rest of Asia in top communications journals to reveal the dominant theories and research methods used to understand the process and effects of communication in Asian societies over the past 20 years. 

Other speakers: Assistant Professor Jun Liu and Bo Ærenlund Sørensen, Department of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford.

The ChinaTalk Research is jointly organised by the research priority areas on “Media and Communications in Transitional Societies” and “the Journalism Studies,” Department of Media, Cognition and Communication, and ThinkChina, UCPH.