Back to Marx: Expansion of the Vision of Communication Research

Author: Han Zhirui (Master's degree from the School of Journalism and Communication of Shandong University)

Source: "Youth Reporter", No. 16, 2022

Judging from the disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system, China Communication still has the tendency to "respect the ocean, the beauty, and the ocean". The absence of communication at the political level has the problem of existing discipline itself, and it is also the result of "de -political" in the development of Chinese communication. Politics does not care about its own politics. [1] In recent years, the research of the domestic journalism community has paid more attention to the research on Marxism, and the research of communication should also "bring Marx back" and consciously use Marxist positions, views and methods to interpret the increasingly complicated communication phenomenon , Responsible for the times. This article will try to discuss the following issues: What enlightenment of the "Marx Return" of the Western Communication School for understanding the relationship between Marxism and communication? What efforts have China made in the research of Marxist communication? How can Chinese communication school establish and develop its own academic subjectivity in the research of Marxist communication, and improve the development dilemma facing communication now?

"Marx Return" in the era of digital capitalism

In "History of Communication", Rogers attributed Marxism as one of the origins of communication science. Marx can indeed be regarded as one of the founders of modern communication. Many of his works are related to social interactions, ideology, communication Technical discussion. However, the mainstream of narratives about the origin of modern communication studies is the origin of the Cold War Social Sciences with the tendency to go to Marxism and even anti -Marxism. However, Marxism still has vivid vitality. Since the financial crisis in 2008, the capitalist crisis in politics, economy, culture, and ecology has continued to intensify globally. Show its critical force. On the basis of the theoretical cushions and knowledge accumulation of communication scholars such as Amang Mattla, Dallas Simet, Herbert Schiller and other communication scholars. The wave of "return of Marx".

As the latest stage of capitalism, digital capitalism does not break through the basic operation of capitalism. The emerging information technology and information industry instead exacerbate the crisis and instability of capital accumulation. In the face of the new situation of the digital capitalism stage , New issues, a series of doctrines in the production method, surplus value, alienation, commodity worship, capital accumulation, labor, currency, etc. still work. In the context of digital capitalism and new technologies, foreign critical communication scholars have reused the global communication system, media system, media content production, digital labor, ideology, class differentiation, and Internet. Professor Christian Fox, a professor of Westminster University in the United Kingdom, cooperated with the transmission of political economist Vincet Moske to cooperate to solicit about global scholars through open source journals, Capitalism and Critique, Articles of Marxism, contemporary capitalism and dissemination, eventually published the special issue "Marx Is Back" in 2012, and East China Normal University Press published a Chinese translation of the papers in 2016. The authors of the papers are basically composed of young communication scholars or doctoral students who were studying at the time. On the one hand, they demonstrated the research level of contemporary Western Marxist communication scholars, and on the other hand, it also reflects the situation of the succession of foreign Marxist communication research.

This paper collection shows the basic way of "Marx Return" in Western critical communication in academic context and research path: use the basic theory of Marxism, build Marxist communication ideas and theories, and analyze and apply for specific communication issues; stations station; stations In the position of Marxism, criticize the ideas and communication systems of capitalist communication, thereby developing the theory, positions, opinions and methods of Marxist communication research; organically integrate Marxist communication political economics and cultural research; Innovation. [2] This is not only the path of "return of Marx", but also the academic contribution of Western Marxist communication scholars, providing us with new materials for Marxist communication under the condition of digital capitalist conditions. However, if we want to explore the path of Chinese Marxist communication studies and prevent western centralism and even academic colonialism in Marxist academic internal reproduction, we should also see its limitations. For Chinese researchers, one of the key issues are "whose Marx is returning". [3] Researchers at the moment, from the identity, are almost all scholars in the college. To some extent they represent the college, who exist in Marx's original work. This is in a clear comparison with the "Communication and Class Struggle" edited by A Mang Matla. For global scholars, but scholars from European and American countries eventually occupy the majority, and none of them are Chinese or Chinese scholars, which means the lack of perspective, that is, this is Marx in the eyes of contemporary European and American scholars; A Western centralist Marx has no articles involving the experience experience in the socialist revolution and construction of China or the East. Marxist communication research itself is critical, historic, and practical. Therefore, the study of Marxist communication in Sinicized should refuse Western centralism and dogmaticism, based on China and the world. Chinese expression in Marxist communication research

As an exotic product, from the history of the introduction and acceptance of it, the research of Chinese communication generally regards the academic paradigm of the U.S. administrative school created by Schram as the authentic communication science, but does not have the tradition of Marxism and its socialist traditions and its socialism. The propagation of the legacy is enough to attach enough attention. However, this does not mean the absence of Marxist communication research in China. Whether it is the study of Marx's news and communication ideas, or the conscious use of Marxist theory and methods in criticism of the 21st century, it shows The Chinese communication community is not the lack of Marxist positions and the efforts to study Sinicization of Marxist communication. In terms of Marx's ideological research, Chen Lidan's "Theory of spiritual communication" is a very representative work. The book fully demonstrates the ideological system of Marx and Engels in information dissemination. The basic concepts such as ethnic interaction and spiritual exchanges have explained the various phenomena and forms of human communication involved in the classics of Marne. In addition to the systematic research on Marx's thinking, there are also many researchers for the idea of ​​media technology, interaction, and public opinion. Sociology, political science and other disciplines are contributed to Marxism research.

If the research on Marx Communication ideology represents the parts of the communication in Marxism, then critical communication can be said to study Marxism in a broader communication and social field. Since the 21st century, criticism of criticism and research has been unique in various fields in various fields of news communication in China. It is an important practice for establishing the theoretical and cultural leadership of Chinese Marxism, and the idea For the important practice of rights, China's criticism of communication has thus becoming an important part of the new era of Marxism and its transmission concept. [4] Since the 21st century, the prominent characteristics of China's criticism of communication science can be described as the combination of theory and practice: in academic construction, strengthen the dialogue with foreign criticism and communication. The cutting -edge results are promoted to academic development with academic publishing practice. Among them, the two sets of translations of East China Normal University Press "Critical Communication Translation" and Peking University Press "Communication Political Economics Translation" are quite representative. In terms of domestic scholars, the critical communication and communication practice of dialogue between the east with the West, the East, and the South of the West, the East, and the South is the practice of academic exchanges. In addition, academic activities such as China's criticism of the school year, "rural, culture and communication" academic week have promoted the expansion and maintenance of academic communities, and attracted more and more young students to participate in critical communication studies. In the study; on the academic path, the first is to be guided by the real problems in the practice of Chinese communication, and explore the imbalance and inequality of urban and rural differences in the communication system, digital gaps, etc. In the structure, the practice of communication and theoretical research; the second is to absorb the multiple theoretical resources in the study of contemporary Marxism, rely on field surveys and social practice, conduct cross -cultural criticism and communication theoretical research and innovation, and new situations in the field of global and domestic communication areas Responsive with new issues. The study of critical communication research in the context of Chinese Marxist Communication research is different from the "return of Marx" in Western Communication, that is, the practical characteristics of theoretical basis, which is not only promoted to the third world countries, including the third world countries, Globally academic exchanges around the world, seeking cross -cultural exchanges and unity, and also re -promotion of the importance of history and politics, emphasizing the practical research path based on Chinese society and entering the field. of. In addition, different from Western centralism, the "return of Marx", China's Marxist communication research has tried to explore the path and method of transforming the global communication system and culture to socialist universal culture under the overall perspective of global society and history. Among them, the socialist cross -cultural communication political economics that Zhao Yuezhi is committed to pioneering has fully reflects this characteristic. Western scholars apply Marxist political economy principles in the field of information, culture and communication, and develop the theory and analysis methods of spreading political economics. From the abundance of communication dimensions and developing Western Marxist political economics. Today, in the face of the continuous deepening of global capitalism, Western centralism, capital centers, and human centerism that spread political economics abroad has caught this cutting -edge academic field into the quagmire of internal volume and theoretical innovation. On the basis of inspecting the lack of political and economic research abroad, the theory and practical achievements of the Sinicization of Marxism, the views of the "Chinese/Asian" scholars of "Chinese/Asia", and the results of foreign critical theoretical research, explore cross -cultural communication politics with Chinese socialist perspectives Theoretical path and problem consciousness of economics. [5] Zhao Yuezhi published a series of articles around this theme. Socialist cross -cultural communication political economics surpassed the limitations of Western critical theory in the process of building a critical communication in China, and how to adhere to the Sinicization of Marxism. On the basis of absorbing two issues: global Marxist theory and Marxist communication research results, it explores new paths that will be embedded in the healthy development of society, and achieve a new order of global communication with more equal, fair and balanced global communication. The Chinese expression of Marxist Communication's research returned to Marx itself, explaining Marxism from the perspective of communication and media; on the other hand, seeking the unity of theory and practice, injecting the practical characteristics into the study of Marxist communication, and innovating theoretical innovation Promote the development of communication practice and the order of communication towards more and more equal directions.

Establish an academic subjectivity of Chinese Communication Studies

In recent years, the Chinese journalism communication community has paid more and more attention to Marxism, consciousness of politics and culture, and the tendency of "re -political" has strengthened. However, we still cannot avoid a contradictory issue, that is, the level of professionalism and science of news communication is getting higher and higher, but scholars' ability and participation in the history and practical issues of Chinese journalism dissemination have not been improved accordingly. [6] The development of communication has formed many segments so far, and its degree of professionalism is not high, and through the continuous emphasis on the method, the "objective" and "scientificity" of research is deepened. It also means that the narrowing of the field of vision and the cutting of reality and experience should be a research method that facilitates academic dialogue. Instead, it has become a research itself. The excessive emphasis on the method has caused an alienation of reality. The farther, the more Chinese experience is restored to a model and stylized thing. Gong Weiliang once pointed out that when communication became more and more important for society, the communication claims to be cross -integrated disciplines was difficult to find a speech seat in the Chinese public academic position. The theoretical paradigm of force, and academic issues and discourse that can be circulated in the academic community, so it is difficult to share the sense of struggle and worries of the social scientific community. [7] How much has this situation now? The absence of the publicity of the publicity of the academic community and the national and social issues is a lack of intellectual quality and academic consciousness of insight and imagination. Chinese communication should be recognized from the dimension of information, communication and culture. And explain the history, the present and future of China's socialist modern country, but China Communication has not been able to fully get out of the "shadow" of mainstream foreign communication and get rid of the superstition of methodism, and establish its own academic subjectivity and publicity. After the first visit to China in the last century in the last century, Dallas Smes asked the century question of "what is the bicycle after the bicycle". Many new problems have been raised in the practice of communication and social governance, especially we can see the effectiveness of socialist technical politics in crisis in crisis prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia. The paradigm is difficult to explain, but it is necessary to answer from the historical, realistic and economic structure of China as a socialist country under the perspective of global perspective. Hu Zhengrong and others have pointed out the basic issues of Chinese Marxist communication research in the new era, including historical issues, ideological issues, issues of journalism and publicity systems, social communication form issues, and international issues. At the edge part, the need for Chinese communication in the new era may not continue to roll in the small cycle study of "theory-experience-theory", but to move towards the large cycle of "practice-theory-practice" Research. The lack of the dissemination of political consciousness, power relationship, class consciousness, and social practice is like the empty pavilion, which seems to be "scientific", but it has covered a major historical background, social relationship, and political meaning. In the process of moving towards the field, in addition to understanding the use of social sciences theory and methods, while not superstitious Western theory and methodism, it also needs to consciously incorporate the theory and practice path of Sinicization of Marxism, thereby continuing and developing the innovation of Chinese communication in China. Development logic builds the subjectivity of Chinese communication in this process.

The research of Marxist communication is not just the knowledge in the book, "bringing Marx back" means to re -visit Marx's classic thoughts and absorb the latest achievements of Marxist research at home and abroad, which means to draw from the social life and practice of the people. Promoting the wisdom of communication and social development means that it is necessary to stand on the standpoint of Marxism to explain the complex entanglement between history, politics, economy, culture, and communication technology. As far as its nature is concerned, Marxist communication research actually has the characteristics of the college's knowledge and communication practice, and shows a critical knowledge, social care and practice courage. Therefore, it can form research on the current communication research. The theoretical knowledge and the dual reflection of academic practice. Faced with the situation of the new era, Chinese communication needs to reiterate the awareness, political awareness and cultural awareness of the problem, liberate the communication from the predicament of de -political and internal volume, and carefully examine the history and practice of the Chinese socialist revolution and construction. , And then continuing the academic tradition of Marxist communication research, responsible for the historical responsibility and mission of developing Marxist news communication ideas.

Reference format for this article:

Han Zhirui. Back to Marx: Expansion of the Vision of Communication Studies [J]. Young reporter, 2022 (16): 102-104.

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