Demystifying The Chinese Social Credit System - Presentation for the Symposium on China’s Data Governance and its Impact on US-China Relations, hosted by the Carter Center China Focus

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 21:46:45 +0000

Demystifying The Chinese Social Credit System - Presentation for the Symposium on China’s Data Governance and its Impact on US-China Relations, hosted by the Carter Center China Focus

Introduction:

There is nothing new about public authorities using collected numerical info as a governing technology. Census has been a central governance tool throughout Ancient Rome and Imperial China. In fact, the need for keeping taxation records was a key historical exigence driving the invention of many earliest writing systems.

Throughout human history, public authorities have relied on collected numerical data as a tool for governance. This was evident with the census in Ancient Rome and Imperial China, where early writing systems were developed primarily for taxation records. The digitization of data and advancements in data science have revolutionized governance-by-data, making it continuously updated and more encompassing. The Chinese Social Credit System (SCS) is a testament to this evolution. Despite its significance, the SCS remains misunderstood, especially outside the Global North. Today, I aim to provide clarity on this topic, considering its implications on human rights and rule of law both within and beyond China, and shedding light on US-China relations. This talk will bring together relevant historical, rhetorical, socio-cultural and legal contexts to unpack the emergent structures of the Chinese social credit system and data governance experiments. By catalyzing greater open dialogue and critical inquiry on this thorny topic, this lecture seeks to advance the vision of The Carter Center and contribute to a deeper understanding of the past, present, and future of US-China relations.

New Book: "Legal and Rhetorical Foundations of Economic Globalization: An Atlas of Ritual Sacrifice in Late-Capitalism" (Routledge, 2020)

Sat, 03 Nov 2018 14:57:12 +0000

(December 2nd, 2019)

I am very pleased to announce that my academic monograph with Routledge | Taylor & Francis Group has now been published: Keren Wang, Legal and Rhetorical Foundations of Economic Globalization: An Atlas of Ritual Sacrifice in Late-Capitalism. It is available in both hardback and digital formats.

This book was developed from my doctoral dissertation, “Three Studies of Ritual Sacrifice in Late Capitalism.” I would like to extend my special thanks to Stephen H. Browne, my dissertation supervisor, and to members of my dissertation advising committee: Larry Catá Backer, Kirt H. Wilson, and Jeremy David Engels. This project would not have been possible without their guidance and mentorship. I would also like to express my gratitude to members of the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State University for their generous, ongoing support of my Ph.D. study and related postdoctoral research.

Neoliberalism on Keren Wang

Demystifying The Chinese Social Credit System - Presentation for the Symposium on China’s Data Governance and its Impact on US-China Relations, hosted by the Carter Center China Focus

Demystifying The Chinese Social Credit System - Presentation for the Symposium on China’s Data Governance and its Impact on US-China Relations, hosted by the Carter Center China Focus

Introduction:

New Book: "Legal and Rhetorical Foundations of Economic Globalization: An Atlas of Ritual Sacrifice in Late-Capitalism" (Routledge, 2020)