The 9th International Joint Summer School: “Communication, China, and Alternative Globalization”

The 9th International Joint Summer School, themed “Communication, China, and Alternative Globalization”, will be held in Zhuhai China between 18 and 28 in June 2017. The IJSS will consist of lectures, field research and presentation. The organizers are now calling for participants who are interested in communications, media, and social studies. The deadline for application submission is April 15.

Sponsors
The National Centre for Communication Innovation Studies, Communication University of China
School of Communication, Simon Fraser University
The Communication and Media Research Institute, University of Westminster
School of Journalism and Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Host
International Journalism Program
Beijing Normal University – Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC)

Special Support
Universities’ Think-Tank Union (UTTU)

Media Support
www.ChinaMediaResearch.cn
Globalization is both a political economic process, which is increasingly facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICTs), and a discursive space with diverse, even contesting, narratives. If the western-centric narrative of globalization underpins a social evolutionary logic and center-periphery relationship in the modern world system, globalization from the East or the South provides alternative narratives to either counter the Western hegemony in world history, or to break down the concept into different localities. The key questions are thus how many of those perspectives we have brought into our discussions, and whether an epistemological reorientation is necessary. Since the West is currently undergoing a structural crisis, which is widely recognized due to a series of political and economic signals, for example, the financial problems in a number of advanced capitalist countries and the extremism of those such as Donald Trump, it might be a prime historical conjuncture to rethink the construction of the West and to simultaneously revitalize narratives from the rest of the world that were ignored or marginalized in the former hegemonic discourse of globalization.

The role of China in the processes of globalization is multifaceted. By proposing new visions for the global future, such as the Belt and Road Initiative and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Chinese leaders intend to maintain a high rate of economic growth and strengthen trade relationships with international partners on the one hand, and to contribute to the change of the world political economic order towards more equality and justice on the other. Furthermore, the Chinese government is eager to have a broader and deeper dialogue with foreign countries, through international media projects and cultural exchange programs like the Confucius Institute, while more than one hundred million Chinese have gone abroad for tourism, business, and study every year since 2015. Comparing to the previous decade, more intercultural encounters are emerging between China and outside world at different levels. Therefore, it is also crucial to interrogate the role of China in developing economics and transforming society in a global context in which trans-border connections are intensified.

The influence of media, broadly defined, is of particular importance. They are not only a representation of reality with multiple political and cultural implications, but also one of the central mechanisms in the organization of a society. In the pursuit of both the developmental path and discourse of alternative globalization, media and mediated communication through various ICTs deserve further examination.

With those afore-mentioned concerns in mind, the 2017 International Joint Summer School (IJSS) will focus on a series of inter-related questions under the overarching theme of “Communication, China, and Alternative Globalization”. The complexity of different narratives of globalization, China’s encounters with the world, and the roles of communication in pursuing alternative globalization, will be addressed.

The IJSS has been held eight times since its inception in 2009. Following four successful years in Beijing, the fifth summer school moved base to Simon Fraser University in Canada, while the sixth, seventh and eighth were hosted consecutively by the National Institute of Development Administration in Thailand, the School of Media and Communication at Inner Mongolia Normal University, and the Heyang Institute for Rural Studies in collaboration with Lishui College in Zhejiang. Now in 2017,the  9th International Joint Summer School is set to take place in Zhuhai, one of the first Special Economic Zones and a
garden like coastal city in Guangdong Province neighboring Macau and Shenzhen. Joining as local host will be the International Journalism Program at Beijing Normal University – Hong Kong Baptist University United International College.

The 2017 summer school will consist of two main components: academic lecture and field research. First, lectures will be given by Chinese and overseas scholars on a number of topics that are related to the overarching theme “Communication, China, and Alternative Globalization.” Prospective lecturers will include Yuezhi Zhao, Anthony Fong, Colin Sparks, Xin Xin, Gehao Zhang, Jesse Owen Hearns-Branaman Lei Zhang, Deqiang Ji and other scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds. Young scholars will direct the summer school students to carry out field studies in Zhuhai and regions nearby. Research topics will include (but are not limited to) people’s experience of development in reform China, the global and the local in Zhuhai’s development, The Belt and Road Initiative, urban-rural nexus in special economic zones, ICT industries in the Pearl River Delta, local media representation of development, the mechanism of “glocalization” in local economies, and the labor
situation. Finally, the summer school will conclude with a wrap-up and experience-sharing session in which students will reflect upon the theoretical insights they have gained and the findings of their field studies.

Application
The 2017 IJSS in Zhuhai is calling for participants who are interested in communications, media, and social studies. Enrollment will be limited to 40 students.

Prospective participants are required to fill out an application form accompanied by a statement of research interests, both of which should be sent to ijss2009@qq.com by April 15, 2017. The provision of other supporting documents will be appreciated, such as an up-to-date CV or relevant academic publications. Early submission is recommended, and notification of the applicants’ status of acceptance will be sent out on May 1, 2017.

The IJSS is free of charge, however, participants will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses. The UIC will provide dormitory on campus for participants to choose.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call 86-10-65779313 or send an email to ijss2009@qq.com.

The Application form can be found at:
http://oss.airdiode.com/domain/chinamediaresearch/9/2017/02/0/2017_International_Joint_Summer_School_Application_Form.docx

Photo by Alejandro Luengo on Unsplash