The Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication Announces Inaugural Annabelle Sreberny Pre-Doctoral Fellow
Yingchun Xu will be the center’s inaugural Annabelle Sreberny Pre-Doctoral Fellow.
Yingchun Xu
The Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania is delighted to announce that Yingchun Xu will be the center’s inaugural Annabelle Sreberny Pre-Doctoral Fellow. She will visit CARGC in September 2026. During her three-week-long fellowship, Xu will work on advancing her dissertation and participate in the center events and research activities, including Annabelle Sreberny Distinguished Lecture that will be held on September 22, 2026.
“Yingchun’s research on the cultural politics of digital media use among Indigenous communities in China and Thailand exemplifies the spirit and legacy of Professor Annabelle Sreberny,” says CARGC Research Director Eszter Zimanyi. “Professor Sreberny’s commitment to centering media processes of political and social change in the Global South, and to making communication studies more inclusive, shaped countless scholars in our field. CARGC is honored to help support the next generation of global media scholars through the Annabelle Sreberny Pre-doctoral fellowship program and we are thrilled to welcome Yingchun as our inaugural fellow.”
Yingchun Xu
Xu is a Ph.D. Candidate in Media Studies at Rutgers University. Her research examines algorithmic culture, digital media use, and the cultural politics of Indigenous communities, with particular attention to how algorithm-driven social media platforms shape Indigenous cultural practices and how Indigenous content creators strategically engage with these platforms in processes of cultural revitalization and preservation.
Drawing on online and offline ethnography, visual analysis, and comparative research, her dissertation explores Indigenous media practices in China and Thailand, with a particular focus on cross-border Hani/Akha communities. She investigates how algorithm-driven platforms facilitate new forms of cultural continuity, intergenerational exchange, and community-building while also producing tensions around visibility, commercialization, and representation.
Before joining Rutgers, Xu worked in journalism, environmental communication, and higher education in China and the U.S. Her research interests include Indigenous media, algorithmic culture, media ethics, and digital ethnography. Through extensive fieldwork in China and Thailand, she is committed to collaborative and community-centered research that connects digital technologies with questions of cultural diversity, Indigenous knowledge, and human–environment relationships.
About Annabelle Sreberny Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Global Media Studies
Annabelle Sreberny Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Global Media Studies is a short-term residency program intended for Ph.D. candidates from institutions other than the University of Pennsylvania whose research examines global media. We particularly welcome applicants with projects that align with current CARGC research themes. To learn more about this fellowship, please visit this webpage.
