CDCS Symposium: Cybernationalism and the World

"Populism, Identity, and Symbolic Politics in the Digital Age"

This event will be held on Zoom. Click here to register.

About the Event

This one-day symposium brings together distinguished scholars from around the world to address important questions about the technological and symbolic aspects of nationalism and populism and their implications for global governance.

Funding support for the symposium comes from Perry World House. Co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Contemporary China.

Schedule

View the Event Program

8:30am ET
Opening Remarks

• John Jackson, Walter H. Annenberg Dean and Richard Perry Professor, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Guobin Yang, Grace Lee Boggs Professor of Communication and Sociology Director, Center on Digital Culture and Society, University of Pennsylvania

8:45am – 9:30am ET
Keynote Speech

• "Cybernationalism and Global Governance" — Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar, Estonia’s Ambassador-at-Large for Cyber Diplomacy and Visiting Fellow at Perry World House
• Chair: Michael C. Horowitz, Richard Perry Professor and Director, Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania

9:30am – 10:50am ET
Panel One

• "Making Neo-Nationalist Subject in Japan: Intersection of Nationalism, Jingoism and Populism in the Digital Age" — Satofumi Kawamura, Junior Associate Professor of Philosophy and Communication, Kanto Gakuin University, Japan; and Koichi Iwabuchi, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the School of Sociology, Kanto Gakuin University, Japan
• "Pseudo-Polarization of Public Opinions about Wuhan Diary in Chinese Digital Space — The Impacts of Cyber-Nationalism and Context Collapse on the Attitude Change of Comments on Fang Fang’s Social Media Posts" — Hailong Liu, Professor, Renmin University of China
• “Banal Nationalism and the Legitimacy of Entertainment in Contemporary China" — Kui Zhou, Professor, Communication University of China
• Chair and discussant: Jacques deLisle, Stephen A. Cozen Professor of Law & Professor of Political Science; Director, Center for the Study of Contemporary China

11:00am – 12:00pm ET
Panel Two

• “‘Go Wuhan, Go China!’: Chinese Cybernationalism and the COVID-19 Crisis on Online Video Platforms” — Florian Schneider, Senior University Lecturer in the Politics of Modern China, Leiden University, The Netherlands
• “The BTS Sphere: ARMY’s Transnational Cyber-Nationalism on Social Media” — Dal Yong Jin, Distinguished SFU Professor, Simon Fraser University, Canada
• Chair and discussant: Seung-Youn Oh, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Bryn Mawr College

12:30pm – 1:30pm ET
Panel Three

• “Dialog Splitter: Nationalism, Social Media, and Schismatic Algorithm in Southeast Asia” — Merlyna Lim, Canada Research Chair in Digital Media and Global Network Society, Professor in the School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University, Canada
• “Media, Humor, and People-Making: The Case of the 'Mufflerman' in Digital India” — Aswin Punathambekar, Associate Professor, Department of Media Studies, University of Virginia
• Chair and discussant: Radha S. Hegde, Professor, Department of Media, Culture and Communication, New York University

1:40pm – 3:00pm ET
Panel Four

• “Shields, Fortresses and Guards: An Analysis of Nationalist, Populist Politics and the Rise of Cybernationalism in Turkey” — Bilge Yesil, Associate Professor of Media Culture, College of Staten Island, Doctoral Faculty of Middle Eastern Studies at the Graduate Center, City University of New York
• “The Curious Absence of Cyber-nationalism in Latin America: Lessons for the Study of Digital Sovereignty and Governance” — Silvio Waisbord, Professor and Director, School of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University; and Martin A. Becerra, Professor, Social Sciences Department, the National University of Quilmes, Argentina
• “Cybersecurity as Statecraft” — Norma Möllers, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Queen’s University
• Chair and discussant: Min Jiang, Professor Communication Studies UNC Charlotte