Online society in China : creating, celebrating, and instrumentalising the online carnival / edited by David Kurt Herold and Peter Marolt.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Herold, David Kurt.

Marolt, Peter.

Series:

Media, culture, and social change in Asia series ; 25.

Media, culture, and social change in Asia series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Internet--Social aspects--China.

Internet.

Internet--Social aspects.

China.

Physical Description:

xi, 216 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2011.

Summary:

This book discusses the rich and varied culture of China's online society, and its impact on offline China. It argues that the Internet in China is a separate 'space' in which individuals and institutions emerge and interact. While offline and online spaces are connected and influence each other, the Chinese internet is more than merely a technological or media extension of offline Chinese society. Instead of following existing studies by locating online China in off line society, this book discusses the carnival of the Chinese Internet on its own terms.

Examining the complex relationship between government officials and the people using the Internet in China, this book demonstrates that culture is highly influential in how technology is used. Discussing a wide range of different activities, this book examines what Chinese people actually do on the Internet, and how their actions can be interpreted within the online society they are creating. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Creating the carnival: netizens and the state 21

1 Cultural convulsions: examining the Chineseness of cyber China / Rodney Wai-Chi Chu Chu, Rodney Wai-Chi, Chung-Tai Cheng Cheng, Chung-Tai 23

2 The Internet police in China: regulation, scope and myths / Xiaoyan Chen Chen, Xiaoyan, Peng Hwa Ang Ang, Peng Hwa 40

3 Grassroots agency in a civil sphere? Rethinking Internet control in China / Peter Marolt Marolt, Peter 53

Part II Celebrating the carnival: fun, freak-shows and masquerades 69

4 Parody and resistance on the Chinese Internet / Hongmei Li Li, Hongmei 71

5 China's many Internets: Participation and digital game play across a changing technology landscape / Silvia Lindtner Lindtner, Silvia, Marcella Szablewicz Szablewicz, Marcella 89

6 Lost in virtual carnival and masquerade: in-game marriage on the Chinese Internet / Weihua Wu Wu, Weihua, Xiying Wang Wang, Xiying 106

Part III Instrumentalizing the carnival: rioting as activism 125

7 Human flesh search engines: carnivalesque riots as components of a 'Chinese democracy' / David Kurt Herold Herold, David Kurt 127

8 In search of motivations: exploring a Chinese Linux User Group / Matteo Tarantino Tarantino, Matteo 146

9 Identity vs. anonymity: Chinese netizens and questions of identifiability / Kenneth Farrall Farrall, Kenneth, David Kurt Herold Herold, David Kurt 165

10 Taking urban conservation online: Chinese civic action groups and the Internet / Nicolai Volland Volland, Nicolai 184.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0415565391

9780415565394

0203828518

9780203828519

OCLC:

666878001