Continuing with my emphasis on Chinese culture, it’d be fun to evaluate some of the potential causal relationships surrounding China’s restricted internet policies – why they’ve been enacted (and that’s a bit more complex than just Mao, there), why the public accepts them, to what degree they are and will continue to be successful, and what sort of impact they might have on China’s social and cultural evolution, political structure, legal precedents and economic power. It’d also be interesting to see whether that might have in turn an impact on the choices by other governing parties regarding the same issues.
February 26, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Sounds like a great topic, but, for the moment, stick to the facts / current events. It’s hard to predict the future (e.g. impact on cultural evolution). Your paper’s thesis must be falsifiable, and predictions about the future rarely are.
March 24, 2008 at 4:05 am
This research paper idea could prove to be very fruitful; it will underscore many aspects of the Chinese culture in general, as you work towards understanding how a communication tool as diverse and powerful as the internet is treated and controlled in such a society. More interesting, however, is that by researching this topic, you will not only analyze the underlying socioeconomic and political influences that have created Chinese culture thus far, but will touch on the possible evolution of these influences. I think some interesting questions might be raised. For instance, is the spread of the internet in modern Chinese society creating any sort of counter hegemonic force against pre-existing social, political, and economic constraints… or do the government-imposed restraints not allow for this, manipulating the internet so that it only works to strengthen the law of the land? Is the people’s acceptance set in stone? What can we see for future generations, of both law and society’s interaction with this law? I believe that a good starting point for answering some of these questions (as well as others) might be to begin with one current event in particular. I heard about this over a year ago now, but it was so striking to me that I haven’t forgotten it (I brought it up in class, in the beginning of the semester): the Google scandal in China. It involved Google creating a search engine primed for the kind of censorship practiced in China. Across the globe, criticism was expressed for this botched business move on the part of Google. However, if there was any way to find some sort of feedback or blog on this issue from the Chinese themselves, it might give you some good examples of the basic points of view held by the public. It would definitely give you the perspective of why (if they do) the Chinese might support such restrictions in general, or wish to fight them. This could also work to strongly reflect the general culture (depending on the kinds of responses you find), as people’s opinions of right and wrong vary considerably with their culture. However, I have no idea if this kind of self-expression would be restricted in China, and I’m not sure if finding the perspectives of Chinese living in other countries would be useful to you (I’m not aware of how specific you plan to be when analyzing opinions of the Chinese). Since I’m not aware of the limitations (although I’m sure I’ll know much more after your presentation) I can’t offer much else for advice or thoughts… Good Luck!