Dan Sui, The Ohio State University

Date: 

Friday, September 27, 2013, 3:30pm to 5:00pm

Location: 

CGIS Knafel K354


Dan Sui is Distinguished Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Chair of the Department of Geography at The Ohio State University.
[ faculty website ]

"The paradox of China 2.0: Freedom within the great firewall and growing networked authoritarianism in the People’s Republic of China"
The rapid diffusion and adoption of advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) are transforming multiple dimensions of Chinese society. Using geospatial information as the primary area of focus, this talk reviews the tension between the on-line freedom Chinese netizens have within the great firewall and the growing Internet censorship state apparatuses impose on on-line activities. The questions of how to resolve this tension will have both short-term and long-term social, political, and environmental implications for China’s development. Although there are early signs that ICTs may have the potential to become “liberation technologies” for both political and environmental causes, there is still a long way to go before ICTs in China truly empower individuals, facilitate independent communication and mobilization, and strengthen an emergent civil society.

sui_poster.pdf299 KB