PhD student @USCAnnenberg
Zituo WANG 王子托
I research visibility across social media. I interrogate who remains unseen and how/why they are invisible. My work seeks to understand social reality from marginalized perspectives, examine institutional norms and practices that reproduce oppression, and deconstruct ostensibly neutral structures in the larger society.
Zituo’s
Recent research
To understand social reality from marginalized perspectives, interrogate institutional norms and practices that perpetuate oppression, and deconstruct widely accepted or neutral systems in the larger society (Lather, 1991).
Fandom in East Asia
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We interviewed cosplayers in Wuhan to understand how they deal with the tensions between transcultural fandom and nationalism. We find that they adopt diverse mindsets and cautious strategies to balance passion for global culture with demands of national identity, highlighting the dynamic nature of transcultural fandom in East Asia.
Justice for @birdy
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On September 10, 2022, Gao Yan, a Chinese TikTok (Douyin) influencer known as “birdy,” tragically took his own life after experiencing school bullying due to his sexual orientation. This study explores different strategies and counter discourses adopted by Douyin users to call for justice.
Olympic media & Gu
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Despite ongoing controversy surrounding Eileen Gu, I surveyed 327 Chinese Olympic audiences and found that perceptions of Gu’s identity and performance can still mediate the association between media exposure and nationalistic attitudes. Another study examined Gu’s cross-platform self-presentation on Weibo and Instagram.
Zituo’s
Media Coverage
As researchers, we have a responsibility to the public (Castells, 2012).
I was interviewed by The Economist to discuss my previous research on global criminal networks of robbed and stolen phones. The feature article titled The New Geography of Stolen Goods referenced this study. This paper was supervised by Professor Manuel Castells during COMM 559: Globalization, Communication, and Society in Spring 2022.
I was interviewed by The Free Press and The Wall Street Journal to speak about my previous research on the media effects of Chinese Olympic coverage of Eileen Gu and her self-presentation on social media. My research suggests that Gu’s success reinforces Chinese nationalism by presenting her transnational identity as proof of the country’s global influence.
Zituo WANG