150129 SE Surveillance, Socialisation, and Social Control in China (2024W)

Goals and main contents

This subject will explore key dimensions to the conduct of surveillance in China both prior to and following the establishment of the Peoples Republic in 1949. Although the evaluation of official and citizen conduct have long been features of Chinese governance thinking, it is common for discussions of surveillance in China today to be subsumed under vague notions of technologically facilitated social control and the Party-state’s domination over society. This subject will shed light on how surveillance actually operates and is deployed by the Party-state to enhance control over society while drawing at-tention to the myriad other faces of surveillance in China that citizens are subject to, participate in, welcome, and resist. Dimensions of surveillance in China that the subject will explore include the dang’an and hukou systems as well as their predecessors, public security surveillance systems such as Skynet and grid management, citizen participation in state surveillance, surveillance of ethnic minorities, commercial surveillance, peer-to-peer surveillance, surveillance during COVID, and the Social Credit System Project. Students will be introduced to theories and concepts from the field of surveillance studies as well as Sinology to assist them in understanding political and social changes in China today.

This subject is designed for Bachelor students in Chinese Studies, but open to students from other majors. The course will guide the participants to conduct semi-independent research on subjects of interest and to present the research output in both oral and written forms. Completing this course will equip participants with a comprehensive understanding of the themes pertinent to the conduct of surveillance, both in China and abroad. Knowledge of Chinese language is an advantage for writing seminar papers, but not essential for successful participation.

Course format

The course consists of thirteen sessions: One orientation session, one session on the major theories and concepts from the field of surveillance studies, two sessions on constructing a research study and instruction in regards to the writing of the semester-paper (one in week six and one in week ten), and nine sessions on thematic topics specific to surveillance in China.

Preparatory discussion sessions will be held during weeks six and ten to help participants develop their research question and plan for the seminar paper.

Seminar-papers will be due on: Friday 14 February 2025

Information on the lecturer can be found at: https://ufind.univie.ac.at/en/person.html?id=1004456