Biography
Dr Jian Xu is a Senior Lecturer in Communication in the School of Communication and Creative Arts and a member of ADI, Deakin University. He is Co-convenor of the Asian Media, Culture and Society Research Group and Associate Investigator of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. Jian Xu researches Chinese digital media and communication and celebrity studies with critical approaches. He has widely published on China's digital activism, internet governance, digital youth cultures, cultural governance and celebrity politics. He co-edits the book series of Asian Celebrity and Fandom Studies for Bloomsbury. He received the Faculty Mid-Career Researcher Award for Career Excellence in 2022 and the Faculty Partnerships and International Award in 2021 and 2018.
Read more on Jian's profileCareer highlights
Faculty Mid-Career Researcher Award for Career Excellence, Deakin University, 2022
Faculty Partnerships and International Award, Deakin University, 2021
Inaugural Deakin Fellowship for Internationalisation, Deakin University, 2018
Faculty Partnerships and International Award, Deakin University, 2018
Research interests
Digital media and communication in China
Regulation and governance of the internet and digital media
Media politics and political communicaiton in China
Digital youth cultures
Celebrity studies
Affiliations
Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI), Deakin University
Asian Media, Culture and Society Research Group (AMCS), Deakin University
China Studies Centre (Associate), University of Sydney
Australian & New Zealand Communication Association (ANZCA)
China Studies Association of Australia (CSAA)
Teaching interests
Global media, international communication, Asian media and communication, digital and social media, communication concepts and theories
Units taught
ALM215: Global Media
ACX707/708: Professional Research Project
ACX701: Communication Concepts
Knowledge areas
Chinese media and cultural studies, digital media and communication, celebrity studies, international communication, public diplomacy
Expertise
- Communication
Professional activities
Co-convenor, Asian Media, Culture and Society Research Group (AMCS), Deakin University
Associate Investigator, the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child
ANZCA Regional Representative (Victoria)
Series Editor, Asian Celebrity and Fandom Studies (Bloomsbury Academic)
Editorial Board Member, Digital China Series (Anthem Press)
Media appearances
‘Crazy love: Behind China’s crackdown on K-pop and other fan clubs’, BBC News, 10 September 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58459318
‘Tainted celebrities’: What’s behind China’s crackdown on the entertainment industry?, The Straits Times, 06 September, 2021, https://www.straitstimes.com/life/entertainment/show-business-crackdown-communist-party-of-china-sees-itself-as-moral-authority
‘Why it is no longer cool to be a crazy rich Asian in China?’, BBC News, 10 June, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57380367
‘A queda de uma estrela e a 'política da celebridade' na China’, O Globo, January 25, 2021, https://blogs.oglobo.globo.com/marcelo-ninio/post/queda-de-uma-estrela-e-politica-da-celebridade-na-china.html
Research groups
Communication
Awards
Faculty Mid-Career Researcher Award for Career Excellence, Deakin University, 2022
Faculty Partnerships and International Award, Deakin University, 2021
Inaugural Deakin Fellowship for Internationalisation, Deakin University, 2018
Faculty Partnerships and International Award, Deakin University, 2018
Visiting Fellowship, Centre for the Study of Contemporary China, University of Pennsylvania, 2016
Visiting Fellowship, Centre for Global Communication Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 2015
Endeavour Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Australian Government, 2015
Projects
‘Cyber sovereignty and global Internet governance: A comparative study between China and Australia'
The project is funded by Australia-China Joint-Action Program Grant, Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), 2018-2019
Publications
'Telling China's Story Well' as propaganda campaign slogan: International, domestic and the pandemic
Jian Xu, Qian Gong
(2024), pp. 1-11, Media, Culture and Society, London, Eng., C1
Jian Xu, Qian Gong, Weiwei Xu
(2023), Vol. 4, pp. 149-173, Documentary in the Age of COVID, Peter Lang, B1
J Xu, W Chan
(2023), Vol. 63, pp. 165-184, Australian Journal of Adult Learning, Adelaide, S.Aust., C1
W Sun, J Xu
(2023), Vol. 8, pp. 127-134, Communication and the Public, London, Eng., C1
Governing the Algorithmic Distribution of News in China: The Case of Jinri Toutiao
Jian Xu, Terry Flew
(2022), pp. 27-47, The Algorithmic Distribution of News: Policy Responses, Berlin, Germany, B1
Transformation of China's Most Popular Dating App, Momo, and Its Impact on Young Adult Sexuality
Weishan Miao, Jian Xu
(2022), pp. 1270-1283, Research Anthology on Usage, Identity, and Impact of Social Media on Society and Culture, Hershey, Pa., B1
J Xu, X Zhao
(2022), Vol. 36, pp. 260-273, Continuum, London, Eng., C1
Jian Xu, Qian Gong, Wen Yin
(2022), Vol. 185, pp. 26-40, Media International Australia, London, Eng., C1
Regulating and governing China's internet and digital media in the Xi Jinping era
J Xu, H Yu
(2022), Vol. 185, pp. 3-8, Media International Australia, London, Eng., C1
Introduction: Platformization of entrepreneurial labor via Chinese digital networks
Haiqing Yu, Jian Xu, Ping Sun
(2022), Vol. 7, pp. 253-262, Global Media and China, London, Eng., C1
J Xu, L Qu, G Zhang
(2022), Vol. 14, pp. 525-540, Policy and Internet, Chichester, Eng., C1
Indenturing Celebrity: Governing China's Entertainment Industries
Elaine Jeffreys, Jian Xu
(2022), pp. 1-25, Modern China, London, Eng., C1
Jian Xu, Jian Xu, Dianlin Huang, Dianlin Huang, He Zhang, He Zhang
(2021), pp. 371-392, Palgrave handbook of international communication and sustainable development, London, Eng., B1
Celebrity Politics in COVID-19 China: 'Celebrities Can't Save the Country'
Jian Xu, Elaine Jeffreys
(2021), pp. 85-102, Cultural China 2020: The Contemporary China Centre Review, London, Eng., B1
Governing entertainment celebrities in China: practices, policies and politics (2005-2020)
Jian Xu, Ling Yang
(2021), Vol. 12, pp. 202-218, Celebrity studies, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Internationalising Celebrity Studies: turning towards Asia
J Xu, G Donnar, V Kishore
(2021), Vol. 12, pp. 175-185, Celebrity Studies, C1
Propaganda innovation and resilient governance: the case of China's smog crisis
Jian Xu, Wanning Sun
(2021), Vol. 48, pp. 175-189, Media Asia, C1
Celebrity Studies and China Studies: Toward China Celebrity Studies
Elaine Jeffreys, Jian Xu
(2021), Vol. 8, pp. 2-32, Global Journal of Media Studies, Beijing, C1
Weishan Miao, Jian Xu
(2020), pp. 210-223, Young adult sexuality in the digital age, Hershey, Pa., B1
The rise and fall of the 'King of Hanmai'-MC Tianyou
Jian Xu, Ge Zhang
(2020), Vol. 12, pp. 333-338, Celebrity Studies, London, Eng., C1
Regulation of COVID-19 fake news infodemic in China and India
U Rodrigues, J Xu
(2020), Vol. 177, pp. 125-131, Media International Australia, C1
Changing platformativity of China's female Wanghong: from Anni Baobei to Zhang Dayi
Jian Xu, Xinyu Zhao
(2019), pp. 127-158, Female celebrities in contemporary Chinese society, Singapore, B1
Weishan Miao, Jian Xu, Zhu Hongjun
(2019), pp. 1-13, Second international handbook of internet research, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, B1
The decline of Sina Weibo: a technological, political and market analysis
J Benney, J Xu
(2018), pp. 221-235, Chinese Social Media: Social, Cultural and Political Implications, New York, N.Y., B1
Media since 1949: changes and continuities
J Xu, W Sun
(2018), pp. 1172-1192, The SAGE handbook of contemporary China, Los Angeles, Calif., B1
The politics of Weiguan in China's internet events
J Xu
(2018), Vol. 1, pp. 23-28, China media report, Hong Kong, C1
Governing China's Coal Challenge: Changing Public Policy, Debate and Advocacy
E Jeffreys, J Xu
(2018), Vol. 12, pp. 575-588, Environmental Communication, C1
Privacy concerns in China's smart city campaign: the deficit of China's cybersecurity law
F Yang, J Xu
(2018), Vol. 5, pp. 533-543, Asia and the Pacific policy studies, London, Eng., C1
J Xu
(2018), Vol. 28, pp. 176-185, Asia Pacific Media Educator, C1
J Xu, M Kent, K Ellis, H Zhang
(2017), pp. 318-331, Disability and social media global perspectives, Abingdon, Eng., B1
M Kent, K Ellis, J Xu
(2017), pp. 1-5, Chinese social media : Social, cultural, and political implications, New York, N.Y, B1
Shanzhai media culture: failed intervention to the disingenuous neoliberal logic of Chinese media
J Xu
(2017), Vol. 26, pp. 249-262, Journal of contemporary China, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Celebrity-inspired, fan-driven: doing philanthropy through social media in Mainland China
E Jeffreys, J Xu
(2017), Vol. 41, pp. 244-262, Asian studies review, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Chinese social media: social, cultural, and political implications
Mike Kent, Katie Ellis, Jian Xu
(2017), New York, N.Y., A7
E'gao as a networked digital leisure practice in China
H Yu, J Xu
(2016), pp. 152-165, Digital leisure cultures: critical perspectives, Abingdon, Eng., B1
Blogging for truth: Ai Weiwei's citizen investigation project on China's 2008 Sichuan earthquake
J Xu
(2016), pp. 0-0, Civic media technology, design, practice, Cambridge, Mass., B1-1
Funded Projects at Deakin
Industry and Other Funding
China's Internet Innovation and Governance in the Xi Jinping Era: Big Initiatives, Power Dynamics and Global Impacts
Dr Jian Xu, Dr Weishan Miao
ASSA Grant - Joint call - Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
- 2018: $7,000
Supervisions
Somsack Sengmany
Thesis entitled: Multiculturalism and Public Relations Practice in the Victorian Government and Multicultural Sectors
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Communication and Creative Arts