ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳

 Anran Wang

Anran Wang

PhD Researcher

Department of Media and Communications

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Languages
English, Mandarin
Key Expertise
Digital inequalities, Social network

About me

Project Title

The Resilience of Local Herbal Knowledge in a Mediated Society

Research Topic

Positioned at the intersection of media and communication studies and ethnobotany, Anran examines the resilience of local herbal knowledge in a mediated rural society. Through fieldwork in a minority ethnic tropical rainforest village on China’s southwestern border, he explores how the rapid integration of ICTs into rural communities influences residents’ perceptions, utilisation, protection, and management of herbs and their environment, as well as how plants affect local economies and social order.

In rural China, social relationships, power structures, and knowledge are deeply intertwined, with ICTs playing a pivotal role in shaping these dynamics. Government-led initiatives have accelerated digital adoption in rural areas over the last decade, embedding technology into daily life and production activities. Anran’s research traces how this integration alters power dynamics and social networks, determining what is considered knowledge, who participates in its circulation, and who has access to it.

Employing a three-pronged methodological approach—participant observation, interviews, and social network analysis—he examines the transformations in the concepts and content of indigenous herbal knowledge from a resilience perspective. His work contributes to a deeper understanding of how ICTs impact local knowledge systems and cultural resilience, bridging the fields of media and communication studies and ethnobotany.

Supervisors: Professor Ellen Helsper & Dr Eleanor Power

Biography

Anran is currently a PhD researcher in Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science (ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳). He holds a master’s degree in Computer and Information Technology from the University of Pennsylvania, an MSc in Media and Communications (Research) from ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳, and a BA in Public Relations from the Communication University of China.

His research interests include digital policy, health communication, interpersonal communication, resilience theory, computational social science, and ethnobotany. Anran’s current work involves theorising digital inclusion policymaking, analysing the social impact of technological metaphors, examining the role of counter-hegemonic journalism in health communication, and studying the resilience of local knowledge in mediated societies. Methodologically, he explores the integration of social network analysis (SNA) and natural language processing (NLP) with classical research methods in media and communication studies.

Anran’s research has been published in SSCI- and CSSCI-indexed journals such as Global Media Journal, Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, and Advances in Psychological Science. He has presented at several international conferences, including the International Communication Association (ICA) and the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR).

With extensive teaching experience, Anran currently serves as the Head Tutor for ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Online courses ‘Sustainable Communication Strategies’ and ‘Strategic Communication in Society’. Previously, he was a Class Teacher for the undergraduate course ‘Innovation and Technology Management’ in the Department of Management at ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳, where he achieved an overall student satisfaction rating of 4.9 out of 5.0 in the 2023–2024 academic year. He has also served as a teaching assistant for a range of postgraduate courses such as ‘Digital Media Futures’ and ‘Representation in the Age of Globalisation’ at ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳, and ‘Data Structures & Software Design’ at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Expertise Details

Digital inequalities; Social network; Interpersonal mediated communication; Media and everyday life; Methodologies in media and communications research; Social network analysis; Natural language processing

Presentations

  •  Wang, A. (2021, October 12-14). In a mediated society, can indigenous knowledge survive? Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the College of International Development and Global Agriculture, China Agricultural University, Beijing.
  • Wang, D., Wang, A., Su, Y., & Xu, J. (2021, November 6-7). The Role of Counter-Hegemonic News in the Politicization of Global Health Issues. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Health Communication Professional Committee of the Chinese Association for History of Journalism and Communication & The 4th ‘Medicine, Humanity and Media: Health China and Health Communication’ International Conference, Peking University, Beijing.
  • Wang, A. (2022, May 6). Technology, Relations, & Equality. Poster presented at the Debugging (In)equality in Data Science Workshop, London School of Economics and Political Science, London.
  • Wang, A. (2022, June 17). In a mediated society, can indigenous knowledge survive? Paper presented at Connected Life 2022: Designing Digital Futures, Oxford University, Oxford.
  • Liu, S., Wang, A., & Helsper, E. (2023, July 9-13). A Human Resource Perspective: China’s Children Digital Inclusion Policies in 2000-2022. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR 2023), Lyon.
  • Wang, A., & Liu, S. (2024, April 20). The Cycle of Fairness And Efficiency: Historical Changes And Prospective Analysis Of China's Internet Policies. Paper presented at the Towards the World, Changing the World: 30 Years of China’s Internet academic seminar, School of Media and Culture, Zhejiang University, Wuzhen.
  •  Wang, A., Liu, S., & Helsper, E. (2024, June 20-24). Four Models of Digital Inclusion Policymaking. Paper presented at the 74th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA 2024), Gold Coast.

Publications

  • Wang, A. (2018) In a mediated society, can indigenous knowledge survive? A network ethnography examines the influence of internet use on indigenous herbal knowledge circulation in a remote Yao community. Media@ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Working Paper Series, 207.
  • Wang, D., Wang, A., Su, Y., & Xu, J. (2022). The Role of Counter-Hegemonic News in the Politicization of Global Health Issues. Global Journal of Media Studies(03),58-75.
  • Zhang, N., Hong, D., Yang, H., Mengxi, G., Huang, X., Wang, A., & Wang, L. (2022). Risk perception, anxiety, and depression among hospital pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating effect of positive and negative affect. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology16, 18344909221101670.
  • Zhang, N., & Wang, A. (2023). Behavioral intervention strategies to nudge smoking cessation. Advances in Psychological Science31(4), 684.
  • Wang, A. (Forthcoming). Renaming the “Firewall”: Unpacking the Metaphor Through Similarity Theory. In C. Chokshi & R. Mansell (Eds.), The Need to Rename Tech (Publisher TBD).

Creative Works

  • Coordinator of “I Am Snack: Youth, Cerebral Hemorrhage, and Struggle”, awarded Best Director at the 2023 Peking University Health Communication International Video Invitational Exhibition, with collaborators Haiyan Song, Mengyun He, and Zhiqiang Zhou