Presentations, Talks & Lectures

Conference Presentations


2024 “Eros and Platformization: Para-erotic Economy and the Male Body in E-Commerce.” Digital Transactions in Asia. Quy Nhon, Vietnam. February.


2023 “ 'Hold on to the Green Horse': On the Cultivation of Algocratic Attunement in China in the COVID Era.Data Justice Conference. Cardiff University. June.


2023  From Gangsta to Patriot: Sublimated Masculinities and Libidinal Nationalism in China’s Mainstreamed Hip-Hop Scene.” A paper presented to the Popular Media and Culture Division of the International Communication Association. 


2023 TikToking Vaccine Nationalism: Examining COVID-Vaccine-Themed Videos on Douyin through a Mixed-method Analysis.” A paper presented to the panel, “Video-as-Data in Computational Communication: Toward a Mixed-Method Pathway,International Communication Association. (with K. Chen and Y. Lu).


2023  Sublimated Machismo: Hegemonic Masculinity and Popular Nationalism in Contemporary Chinese Hip-Hop Culture.Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference. Organizer and presenter on the panel, "Gendering Propaganda: An Intersectional and Intermedial Perspective on Popular Propaganda in Modern China." Virtual. 


2023  “ 'Hold on to the green horse': On algorithmic non-resistance, or how to live with automated social sorting in China in the COVID Era. International Conference on Automated Decision-Making and Chinese Societies. RMIT, Melbourne, Australia. February. 


2022  Thanks to My Country’s Love!: Examining Nationalist Narratives in COVID vaccine-related Videos on Douyin Through Large-Scale Visual and Textual Analysis. A paper presented to the Global Communication and Social Change Division of the International Communication Association. (with K. Chen and Y. Lu). 


2022  Making Science Intersectional Through Identity Performance: Linking Social Media Content, User Metrics Data, and Interviews to Study Minoritized Women as STEM Content Creators on Social Media. A paper presented at the Panel Session, Linkage Analysis: Methodological and Theoretical Insights From Research Combining Content Analysis With Survey Data, International Communication Association. (with K. Chen)


2021  'The Virus May Have Come From…': COVID-19 Infodemic in China and the Politics of (Mis)Translation. A paper presented to the Cultural and Critical Studies Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Virtual Conference. 

2021  “Flattening Trust: An Ethico-Critical Anatomy of China's Emerging Social Credit System.A paper presented to the Philosophy, Theory and Critique Division of the International Communication Association. Virtual Conference.

2021 “Recreating Science: How Female Science Communicators Transcend Traditional STEM Communication on Social Media. A paper presented to the Communication and Technology Division of the International Communication Association. Virtual Conference. (with K. Chen and S. Yang).

2020 “Media Convergence in Action: Making Ideotainment in China's State-run Media.” A paper presented to the ICA Pre-conference, Social Media, Algorithms, News, and Public Engagements in the Asia-Pacific and Beyond, Virtual Conference.

2019 “Mainstreaming the Alternative: Demystifying the Paradox of BL Web Series in China.” A paper presented to the Popular Communication Division of the Annual International Communication Association, Washington D.C.

2018 “Beneath the Bitter Laughter: Youth Parodies, Structures of Feeling, and Cultural Citizenship in China.” A paper presented to the Popular Communication Division of the International Communication Association, Prague, Czech Republic.

2018 “When Nationalism Meets Hip-Hop: Aestheticized Politics of Ideotainment in China.” A paper presented to the Philosophy, Theory and Critique Division of the International Communication Association, Prague, Czech Republic.

2018 “Imagineering Harmony and Prosperity: Aesthetics and Politics of Ideotainment in China. ” A paper presented at the Chinese Internet Research Conference, Leiden, the Netherlands.

2017 “Bridging the Divide Between Reason and Sentiment: Exploring the Potentials of Emotionality in Journalism.” A paper presented to the Communication Theory and Methodology Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago.

2017 “Emotional News, Emotional Counterpublic: Unraveling the Mediated Construction of Fear in the Chinese Diasporic Community.” A paper presented to the Cultural and Critical Studies Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago.

2016 “Narrating Differences: Exploring a Dialogical Representation of Ethnic Minorities in Journalism.” A paper presented to the Ethics & Journalism Practice Division of the International Association for Media and Communication Research, Leicester, UK.

Invited Talks/Guest Lectures


2023 Approaching Video-as-Data Through Multimodal Analyses: Examination of Short Videos on Douyin (the Chinese TikTok) during COVID.” Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, UK. June.  


2023 “Beyond Resistance and Resignation: Popular Imaginations of the Health Code and the Cultivation of Algocratic Attunement in China in the COVID Era.” Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, UK. June.  


2023  Qualitative and mixed methods in studies of politics and popular culture: Soft propaganda as an example.” Department of Political Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. May.  


2022   Refracting Digitization: Social Media, Ideotainment, and Emotional Governance in China. Department of Humanities, Michigan Tech. Houghton, Michigan. March.


2021   “Entertaining Propaganda? How State-run Media in China Reinvent Themselves on Digital Platforms.” MCC Lecture Series. Muskegon Community College. November. 


2021   “From Folk Arts to Mobile Games: Exploring a Ludic Theory of Popular Propaganda.” MSU Virtual Workshop on Media Convergence and Chinese Digital Cultures, Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures, Michigan State University. September.


2021   From AIDS to COVID: Diseases, Disinformation, and Transcultural Literacy. Michigan-Puerto Rico Curriculum Development Program: Global Health in Puerto Rican Classrooms. August.

2021    “Digital Media and Society in China: Beyond Resistance and Control.” Virtual Workshop on “Asia Rising and Global Consequences.” Midwest Institute for International/Intercultural Education. May.

2021   "Infodemic and the Politics of (Mis-)Translation: A Transcultural and Intertextual Perspective." LRCCS Interdisciplinary Workshop, University of Michigan. April. 

2021   “Understanding Media Industry through In-depth Interviews.” LSC 250: Research Methods in the Communication Industry. Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI. (Instructor: Kaiping Chen). March.

2021   "Propaganda as Viral Stunts: How Party Press in China Navigates Between Tradition and Innovation." Noon Lecture Series, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan. March.

2020  "Designing Viral Propaganda in China: Party Press and Digital Innovation." Research Talk, School of Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong. December.

2020 "The Art of Research Interviews: Positionality, Reflexivity, and Improvisation." In LSC375: Social Media Analytics. Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI. (Instructor: Kaiping Chen). October. 

2020 "The Cultural Politics of Propaganda Rap in China." In CHINESE 210/330: Intermediate and Advanced Intermediate Chinese: Conversations on Contemporary Topics, Centre College, KY. (Instructor: Mei Li Inouye). September.

2020 "The Engineering of Sentiment and Desire: Unraveling the Politics and Aesthetics of Ideotainment in China." Research Talk Series, Stanford Humanities Center, CA. May. 

2018 "A Critical/Cultural Perspective on China's Living Streaming Industry." In CHINA 201: Proseminar: Bibliographic and Research Methods in Chinese Studies, Stanford, CA. (Instructor: Ban Wang). February.