Project: Cultural Publics

This research program focuses on cultural publics in the era of network society.

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The formation of publics has been re-written by the mediation of information and communication technologies in the era of network society. Cultural publics originated from popular culture fans and celebrities have increasingly taken the center stage of active citizenship. Shared among the diverse groups of nowadays cultural publics are the rooting in cultural identity, and the shaping role played by new media. The logic behind algorithm-driven traffic media, the financial move made by new media companies, and the user communities' negotiation present a complex web of actors in contesting cultural publics.

Political culture varies among countries, due to their unique AND interwoven historical trajectories. Public engagement in activities such as political talk, elections, protests must be understood within the time- and location-bounded contexts. Historically, authoritarian orientation is salient in some countries than others; elections are indigenous to some cultures but imported to others; participatory acts, either online or offline, contain widely different meanings. The influence of political culture, even in a digital age, is best made evident if we take a comparative approach to examine the South against the South.

Recent Publications

  1. Zhang, W., Rui, E. Y., & Fu, G. J. (2025). Intermediated visibility: A case study of creators and MCNs in Singapore. Convergence, 31(3), 752-769. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565251331464
  2. Zhang, W. (2024). The 30 years of online fandom in China. Communication and the Public. https://doi.org/10.1177/20570473241270576
  3. Zhang, W., & Tong, T. (2024). Contesting the intermediary power: How Chinese MCNs interact with platforms, creators, and advertisers. Media, Culture & Society, 46(5), 1027-1044. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437241229306
  4. Zhang W. (2023). Chineseness as Method. Global Media & China, 8(4), 514-518. https://doi.org/10.1177/20594364231214074
  5. Xi, Y., Chen, A., & Zhang, W. (2022). The expression of cultural identities in Hong Kong's Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement: A semantic network analysis of tweets. Social Science Computer Review, 40(6), 1436–1455. [video]
  6. Zhang, W., Chen, Z., & Xi, Y. (2021). Traffic media: how algorithmic imaginations and practices change content production. Chinese Journal of Communication, 14(1). 58-74. [video]
  7. Zhang, W., & Neyazi, T. A. (2020). Communication and technology theories from the South: the cases of China and India. Annals of the International Communication Association, 44(1), 34-49.
  8. Zhang, L. & Zhang, W. (2018). The influence of monetization on the public functions of Weibo, Global Media and China, 3(3), 195-212.

Partner Institutions

This research was funded by NUS AcRF Tier 1 Grant, NUS FASS Book Grant, and a series of research grants from Institute of Policy Studies. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funder.

Institute of Policy StudiesUniversity of Pennsylvania