Dr Yu Sun

  • Lecturer in Media, Culture & Society (Sociological & Cultural Studies)

telephone: 01413304541
email: Yu.Sun@glasgow.ac.uk
pronouns: She/her/hers

40 Bute Gardens, Glasgow, Glasgow City, Scotland, United Kingdom, G12 8RT

Import to contacts

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7319-8933

Biography

Before joining the University of Glasgow in November 2022, I worked as an assistant professor at college of media and international culture at Zhejiang University (China). I was awarded with a doctoral degree in media studies from University of Groningen (the Netherlands) in 2018. My PhD thesis was titled ‘engaging in politics: everyday political talk in online China’, which explored the nature of political talk in Chinese online spaces and its potentials to increase public deliberation and civic engagement. 

My research interests lie in the following areas: political communication, governance of and by technology, digital activism, feminist media studies, critical data studies and Chinese studies. Overall, I'm specialized in the contemporary debates about the intersection between digital technologies and social transformations with an interest in environmental, gender and governance issues.

My current research focuses on the embeddedness of digital platforms in everyday life as social-technical infrastructures in the global context. Right now, I have been doing research about automation and social governance, datafication and infrastructural publics, environmental and climate politics, and feminist influencers. 

 

Academic services

Since June 2024, I have been serving as International Liaison for the Interest Group Activism, Communication & Social Justice within the International Communication Association, ICA. If you have any feedback or suggestions on diveristy and inclusivity, you are very welcomed to get in touch with me.

 

Administrative services

  • College Appeals Committee Member, since April 2024-present

 

 

 

 

Research interests

. Digital Activism 

. Data, Inequality and Resistance

. Platforms, Automation and Governance

. Political Talk and Online Public Sphere

. Digital Culture and Digital Citizenship

. Feminist Media Studies

. Envrionmental and Climate Change Communication

Research groups

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2024 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 | 2016
Number of items: 12.

2024

Peng, A. Y., Wu, C. and Sun, Y. (2024) Curating activist journalism to defy China’s “mainstream” narrative on X (Twitter). Critical Discourse Studies, (doi: 10.1080/17405904.2024.2430519) (Early Online Publication)

Sun, Y. and Yin, S. (2024) Opening up mediation opportunities by engaging grassroots data: Adaptive and resilient feminist data activism in China. New Media and Society, 26(5), pp. 2851-2871. (doi: 10.1177/14614448221096806)

Sun, Y. and Wright, S. (2024) Relay activism and the flows of contentious publicness on WeChat: a case study of COVID-19 in China. Information, Communication and Society, 27(2), pp. 257-277. (doi: 10.1080/1369118X.2023.2205474)

2022

Peng, A. Y. and Sun, Y. (2022) A dialectical-relational approach to anti-trans sentiments on Hupu. Discourse, Context and Media, 50, 100654. (doi: 10.1016/j.dcm.2022.100654)

Sun, Y. and Wang, W. Y. (2022) Governing with health code: standardising China's data network systems during COVID‐19. Policy and Internet, 14(3), pp. 673-689. (doi: 10.1002/poi3.292) (PMID:35573035) (PMCID:PMC9088356)

Sun, Y. , Graham, T. and Broersma, M. (2022) Complaining and sharing personal concerns as political acts: how everyday talk about childcare and parenting on online forums increases public deliberation and civic engagement in China. Journal of Information Technology and Politics, 19(2), pp. 214-228. (doi: 10.1080/19331681.2021.1950096)

Sun, Y. and Huang, V. G. (2022) Embedded data activism: the institutionalization of a grassroots environmental data initiative in China. Chinese Journal of Communication, 15(1), pp. 115-137. (doi: 10.1080/17544750.2021.1963997)

2021

Sun, Y. , Graham, T. and Broersma, M. (2021) Informing the government or fostering public debate? How Chinese discussion forums open up spaces for deliberation. Journal of Language and Politics, 20(4), pp. 539-562. (doi: 10.1075/jlp.19104.sun)

Yin, S. and Sun, Y. (2021) Intersectional digital feminism: assessing the participation politics and impact of the MeToo movement in China. Feminist Media Studies, 21(7), pp. 1176-1192. (doi: 10.1080/14680777.2020.1837908)

2020

Sun, Y. and Yan, W. (2020) The power of data from the global south: environmental civic tech and data activism in China. International Journal of Communication, 14, pp. 2144-2162.

2018

Sun, Y. , Graham, T. and Broersma, M. (2018) Environmental talk in the Chinese green public sphere: a comparative analysis of daily green-speak across three Chinese online forums. In: Schwanholz, J., Graham, T. and Stoll, P.-T. (eds.) Managing Democracy in the Digital Age. Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, pp. 243-263. ISBN 9783319617084 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-61708-4_13)

2016

Wright, S., Graham, T., Sun, Y. , Yang Wang, W., Luo, X. and Carson, A. (2016) Analysing everyday online political talk in China: theoretical and methodological reflections. Communication, Politics and Culture, 49(1), pp. 41-61.

This list was generated on Sat Feb 22 13:41:58 2025 GMT.
Jump to: Articles | Book Sections
Number of items: 12.

Articles

Peng, A. Y., Wu, C. and Sun, Y. (2024) Curating activist journalism to defy China’s “mainstream” narrative on X (Twitter). Critical Discourse Studies, (doi: 10.1080/17405904.2024.2430519) (Early Online Publication)

Sun, Y. and Yin, S. (2024) Opening up mediation opportunities by engaging grassroots data: Adaptive and resilient feminist data activism in China. New Media and Society, 26(5), pp. 2851-2871. (doi: 10.1177/14614448221096806)

Sun, Y. and Wright, S. (2024) Relay activism and the flows of contentious publicness on WeChat: a case study of COVID-19 in China. Information, Communication and Society, 27(2), pp. 257-277. (doi: 10.1080/1369118X.2023.2205474)

Peng, A. Y. and Sun, Y. (2022) A dialectical-relational approach to anti-trans sentiments on Hupu. Discourse, Context and Media, 50, 100654. (doi: 10.1016/j.dcm.2022.100654)

Sun, Y. and Wang, W. Y. (2022) Governing with health code: standardising China's data network systems during COVID‐19. Policy and Internet, 14(3), pp. 673-689. (doi: 10.1002/poi3.292) (PMID:35573035) (PMCID:PMC9088356)

Sun, Y. , Graham, T. and Broersma, M. (2022) Complaining and sharing personal concerns as political acts: how everyday talk about childcare and parenting on online forums increases public deliberation and civic engagement in China. Journal of Information Technology and Politics, 19(2), pp. 214-228. (doi: 10.1080/19331681.2021.1950096)

Sun, Y. and Huang, V. G. (2022) Embedded data activism: the institutionalization of a grassroots environmental data initiative in China. Chinese Journal of Communication, 15(1), pp. 115-137. (doi: 10.1080/17544750.2021.1963997)

Sun, Y. , Graham, T. and Broersma, M. (2021) Informing the government or fostering public debate? How Chinese discussion forums open up spaces for deliberation. Journal of Language and Politics, 20(4), pp. 539-562. (doi: 10.1075/jlp.19104.sun)

Yin, S. and Sun, Y. (2021) Intersectional digital feminism: assessing the participation politics and impact of the MeToo movement in China. Feminist Media Studies, 21(7), pp. 1176-1192. (doi: 10.1080/14680777.2020.1837908)

Sun, Y. and Yan, W. (2020) The power of data from the global south: environmental civic tech and data activism in China. International Journal of Communication, 14, pp. 2144-2162.

Wright, S., Graham, T., Sun, Y. , Yang Wang, W., Luo, X. and Carson, A. (2016) Analysing everyday online political talk in China: theoretical and methodological reflections. Communication, Politics and Culture, 49(1), pp. 41-61.

Book Sections

Sun, Y. , Graham, T. and Broersma, M. (2018) Environmental talk in the Chinese green public sphere: a comparative analysis of daily green-speak across three Chinese online forums. In: Schwanholz, J., Graham, T. and Stoll, P.-T. (eds.) Managing Democracy in the Digital Age. Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, pp. 243-263. ISBN 9783319617084 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-61708-4_13)

This list was generated on Sat Feb 22 13:41:58 2025 GMT.

Grants

. Interdisciplinary Shaping Fund, College of Social Sciences, University of Glasgow, £1,500, 2024

. School of Social and Political Sciences Early Career Researcher Support Fund, £800, 2022-2023

. Chinese National Philosophy and Social Science Project (Principal investigator, 2021-present) 

. Zhejiang (China) Provincial Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project on Digital China (Co-principal investigator, 2021-2024)

. Zhejiang (China) Provincial Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project on the building of digital infrastructure and environmental governance in China (Principal Investigator, 2021-2024) 

. Chinese National Postdoctoral Grant (2019-2020)  

. The Postdoctoral International Exchange Program Fellowship (Zhejiang University, 2018)

. ECREA Travel Grant, 2016                        

Supervision

  • Xu, Zixin
    Social Media in Community-Based Crisis Management in China: A Case Study

Teaching

Postgraduate Course

  • SPS 5056 Transformations in Media Culture and Society 2 (convening & teaching)
  • SPS 5020 Media Research methods (co-teaching)
  • SPS 5068 Transformations in Media Culture and Society 1 (co-teaching)
  • SPS 5057 Media, Culture & Memory (convening & teaching)

Additional information

 


Dr Yu Sun on Bluesky Dr Yu Sun on Twitter