Social Media and the Public Sphere in China Chapter

abstract

• This chapter seeks to answer the question of whether microblog can function as a promising form of public sphere. Utilizing a combined framework of public sphere based on the theories of Mouffe (1995) and Dahlgren (2005), it examines the political discussion and interrogation on Sina Weibo, China's leading microblog site, concerning the Wenzhou high-speed train derailment accident in July of 2011 through a critical discourse analysis. Its results suggest that Weibo enables the creation of new social imaginary and genre of discourse as well as the construction of new social identities.

authors

• Tang, Lu

author list (cited authors)

• Shan, Z., & Tang, L. u.

complete list of authors

• Shan, Zhou||Tang, Lu

Book Title

• Handbook of Research on Citizen Engagement and Public Participation in the Era of New Media

publication date

• November 2017

publisher

• IGI Global  Publisher

published in

• n2475-6644ISSN  Journal

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.4018/978-1-5225-1081-9.ch022

International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 10

• 1522510818

International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 13

• 9781522510819

start page

• 410

end page

• 425

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-1081-9.ch022