The Construction of Chinese Ethnic Yao's Identities in the Age of Digital Media
(2024) MKVM13 20242Media and Communication Studies
Department of Communication and Media
- Abstract
- This thesis examines the intersection of media engagement and the construction of national identity among the Yao people, an ethnic minority in China. This inquiry emerges against the backdrop of China's state-driven media narratives aimed at fostering national unity amidst its diverse ethnic landscape. The study investigates how the Yao people, with their rich cultural heritage and history of marginalization, navigate their ethnic identity within a state-centric framework of Chinese nationalism.
The research is structured around three questions: 1. How do the Yao people's everyday life practices shape and reflect their dual identity as both an ethnic minority and a part of the Chinese nation? 2. How does ethnic background shape the Yao... (More) - This thesis examines the intersection of media engagement and the construction of national identity among the Yao people, an ethnic minority in China. This inquiry emerges against the backdrop of China's state-driven media narratives aimed at fostering national unity amidst its diverse ethnic landscape. The study investigates how the Yao people, with their rich cultural heritage and history of marginalization, navigate their ethnic identity within a state-centric framework of Chinese nationalism.
The research is structured around three questions: 1. How do the Yao people's everyday life practices shape and reflect their dual identity as both an ethnic minority and a part of the Chinese nation? 2. How does ethnic background shape the Yao people's media engagement in everyday life? 3. How does media engagement reconstruct or deconstruct the Yao people's national identity? Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study integrates quantitative surveys with qualitative ethnographic interviews to explore individual perceptions, emotional connections, and behavioral expressions of identity.
Key findings reveal a nuanced identity negotiation process: while the Yao people exhibit strong emotional ties to their ethnic heritage, practical expressions of identity lean toward alignment with the Chinese national narrative. Media plays a dual role, both reinforcing state narratives and offering spaces for cultural preservation. The study also highlights the impact of historical economic inequalities and migration on identity construction, with urbanization amplifying both integration into the national identity and the challenges of preserving ethnic distinctiveness.
The research contributes to the broader discourse on ethnic minorities and media engagement by emphasizing the fluidity and complexity of identity in a digital era. Future research could explore the role of transnational connections and diaspora dynamics in reshaping the Yao identity, as well as the potential of new media technologies to amplify minority voices within dominant cultural frameworks. (Less)
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@misc{9178471,
abstract = {{This thesis examines the intersection of media engagement and the construction of national identity among the Yao people, an ethnic minority in China. This inquiry emerges against the backdrop of China's state-driven media narratives aimed at fostering national unity amidst its diverse ethnic landscape. The study investigates how the Yao people, with their rich cultural heritage and history of marginalization, navigate their ethnic identity within a state-centric framework of Chinese nationalism.
The research is structured around three questions: 1. How do the Yao people's everyday life practices shape and reflect their dual identity as both an ethnic minority and a part of the Chinese nation? 2. How does ethnic background shape the Yao people's media engagement in everyday life? 3. How does media engagement reconstruct or deconstruct the Yao people's national identity? Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study integrates quantitative surveys with qualitative ethnographic interviews to explore individual perceptions, emotional connections, and behavioral expressions of identity.
Key findings reveal a nuanced identity negotiation process: while the Yao people exhibit strong emotional ties to their ethnic heritage, practical expressions of identity lean toward alignment with the Chinese national narrative. Media plays a dual role, both reinforcing state narratives and offering spaces for cultural preservation. The study also highlights the impact of historical economic inequalities and migration on identity construction, with urbanization amplifying both integration into the national identity and the challenges of preserving ethnic distinctiveness.
The research contributes to the broader discourse on ethnic minorities and media engagement by emphasizing the fluidity and complexity of identity in a digital era. Future research could explore the role of transnational connections and diaspora dynamics in reshaping the Yao identity, as well as the potential of new media technologies to amplify minority voices within dominant cultural frameworks.}},
author = {{Yin, Hang}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The Construction of Chinese Ethnic Yao's Identities in the Age of Digital Media}},
year = {{2024}},
}