Guobin Yang

Virus alert! If you received an email about "BBQ weekend" invitation, it was NOT sent by me. Don't open the link in the email.

We are thrilled to issue the call for applications (global.upenn.edu/future-of-us...) for our fourth fellowship cohort, made possible by generous support from @carnegie.org and the Henry Luce Foundation.
Applications are due March 17.

Excited to give a talk on brokerage in feminist movments next week at the Center for Korean Studies. I will also be exploring the implications of networked leadership on algormithmically curated and creator-centric platforms based on my book project.

korea.sas.upenn.edu/events/broke...

The Wuhan Lockdown

A diary entry

Six years ago today, Wuhan started its 76-day lockdown. So close yet so far

Our volume “The Digitalisation of Memory Practices in China: Contesting the Curating State” with fantastic chapters about the intersection of digital technologies & memory politics in China is freely accessible. It introduces new ways to study heritage and memory struggles in authoritarian states.

How the Cold War Broke the News

While big tech and market forces get much of the blame for the decline of news media, Professor Barbie Zelizer makes the bold claim in her new book that problematic journalistic practices that became entrenched during the Cold War are responsible for the current issues facing journalism:

An IAMCR-sponsored online launch of East Asian Media Culture on Jan 29. Registration required: iamcr.org/webinars/eas... @cdcspenn.bsky.social

23rd China Internet Conference, June 22-23, 2026 @ China Institute, Univ of Alberta. Cara Wallis & I'll give keynotes. My topic is “Of earthy flavor and AI flavor: On distinguishing flavors in an age of cyber artificiality and uncertainty." Nice funding for students
www.ualberta.ca/en/china-ins...

We are thrilled to announce the Fellows of the Transpacific and Asian Dialogue on China, a new initiative designed to contribute to policy deliberations across the Asia-Pacific region over the novel & complex challenges posed by China’s rise. Read more at: global.upenn.edu/future-of-us...

As media institutions lose their funding, Dean Sarah Banet-Weiser invited professors @victorpickard.bsky.social and Duncan Watts (@csspenn.bsky.social) to discuss the role of journalism in our democracy. Listen to Annenberg Conversations on your favorite podcast app, or visit our website.

Mourning Li Wenliang on the internet Source: Annenberg School for Communications (12/17/25) Mourning Li Wenliang, the Whistleblower of COVID-19, on the Chinese Internet In a new paper, Professor Guobin Yang analyzes how Chinese social…

I'm happy to see that the Modern Chinese Literature and Culture blog at Ohio State U picked up and re-posted this essay by @asc.upenn.edu
u.osu.edu/mclc/2025/12...

Grateful to our awesome in-house writer Hailey Reissman for writing up this story. Just in time to mark the sixth anniversary of the COVID outbreak

Research Roundup Ocean Build up Digital Culture and Birthright Citizenship Recent work from faculty in our History, Biology, and Sociology departments.

The latest research publications from Arts & Sciences includes Hardeep Dhillon of History writing about immigration, Xin Sun of Biology on nitrite accumulation in marine oxygen minimum zones, and Guobin Yang of Sociology and Communication on genre borrowing in Chinese digital culture. @upenn.edu

Research Roundup Ocean Build up Digital Culture and Birthright Citizenship Recent work from faculty in our History, Biology, and Sociology departments.

Glad to see @sas.upenn.edu Omnia’s new Research Roundup captures my recent article on genre borrowing practices in Chinese digital culture, together with two other fascinating projects by @sas.upenn.edu faculty
omnia.sas.upenn.edu/story/resear... @cdcspenn.bsky.social

I had a lot of fun talking about my @ucpress.bsky.social book on this @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social podcast! Thanks to Megan Finn for letting me chat about Silicon Valley, activism, and the book on mutual aid I'm writing now.
🎧 in your fave podcast app or here: newbooksnetwork.com/appropriate-...

Our position statement rejecting the use of GenAI for reflexive qualitative research can be found here

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Getting up early to catch the AI bird in Hong Kong. Conference info here: eduhknmsmcon.com

Ppt

First day of #aoir2025! Glad to see non-English presentations (with English translation) and local histories on a panel about AI infrastructures

Ah, there is the fingers symbol again!

Excited to be hosting this symposium next April! Looking forward to a vibrant discourse on affect and activism 😎

guobin-yang.blogspot.com/2025/10/thre...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

In this piece on "genre borrowing" I study why netizens use Sima Qian's "arrayed biography" (列传) form to write biographies of Li Wenliang & how the narrative devices of this ancient genre align with the logic of digital culture. Open access! @asc.upenn.edu journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Prefer your #AoIR2025 programme in an app? Our Sched is love!

#AoIR2025 is next week! Easiest programme to read on a mobile is on the Sched app: aoir2025ruptures.sched.com

Genre borrowing in Chinese digital culture: Narrative imagination and grassroots storytelling on social media - Guobin Yang, 2025 A notable feature in Chinese digital culture is its playful style. Memes, jokes, parodies, and coded language of all sorts abound on social media. While researc...

This is fascinating! Sima Qian is surely making a comeback! People wrote Shiji-style biographies of Li Wenliang during Wuhan lockdown - my piece on this is just out, open-access journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Thank you Jeff for giving a fabulous talk! We were honored to host you!

Folks in Philly, don't miss @jwassers.bsky.social 's talk today at the Center for the Study of Contemporary China @sas.upenn.edu @upenn.edu
cscc.sas.upenn.edu/events/2025/...

CDCS Colloquium: Yena Lee Creator Logic-in-Practice: Political Content Creators and the Negotiation of Influence in the Post-Networked Era

Excited to kick off my postdoc @cdcspenn.bsky.social @asc.upenn.edu with a colloquium on Monday, September 29th ✨

I’ll be sharing from my dissertation-to-book project titled, "Creator Logic-in-Practice: Political Content Creators and the Negotiation of Influence in the Post-Networked Era."

East Asian Media Culture in the Age of Digital Platforms | Narratives, Focusing on the convergence of popular culture and digital platforms in the East Asian context, this book delves into the increasing role of East Asia, not only

I have a chapter on Japan's TVer in this new volume on East Asian platforms and media, edited by Dal Yong Jin and Kyong Yoon. Lots of great work here by @guobin-yang.bsky.social, @hlynn5.bsky.social, @otomedoctor.bsky.social, and others.
doi.org/10.4324/9781...

❓What Review Article topic are you most interested in seeing at Sociological Forum? Tell us more by commenting below!

1️⃣ Immigration/migration/asylum
2️⃣ Online qualitative research methods
3️⃣ Sociology of AI/technology
4️⃣ Academic Freedom

📊 Show results

Call for Abstracts: 2026 CDCS Symposium

“Good Vibes Only? How Affects and Emotions Are Mediated for Justice in Digital Culture”

www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/... @asc.upenn.edu @cdcspenn.bsky.social l