Research topic
Emerging Inequalities in a networked Yao village
Anran’s research incorporates ecological approaches into the media and communications discipline and the study of inequalities in rapidly digitizing societies. As the Chinese government implemented its ambitious digital rural development strategy, there has been a steady increase in information structure and people’s daily Internet use in rural China. To understand how the evolving social structure of digitalized rural society might shape individuals’ material and immaterial wellbeing, Anran will conduct fieldwork in a Yao village in the rainforest of Southwestern China using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. By taking social network analysis as a primary research method, his proposed interdisciplinary research aims to expand not only theoretical approaches to the study of (digital) inequalities but also contribute to methodological innovation in the field. This allows his research to feed into evidence-based digital inclusion policies, thereby increasing the likelihood of disadvantaged populations benefiting from the use of information and communication technologies.
Supervisors: Professor Ellen Helsper & Dr Eleanor Power
Biography
Anran is a first-year PhD researcher in Media and Communications Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His research explores the link between social and digital inequalities in rapidly digitalized remote villages from a networked inequality perspective.
Anran completed his BA in Public Relations at the Communication University of China in 2016 and obtained an MSc in Media and Communication (Research) at the LSE in 2018. Before he rejoined LSE as a PhD researcher in 2021, he had working experience in International Development (at the China Agricultural University), Behavioral Public Health (at Zhejiang University), and Health Communication (at Peking University). Apart from experience within social science disciplines, Anran also received degree-level training in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania.