Exploring the Intersection of Communication and Labor: A Dialogue with Dan Schiller

This paper came out of a research seminar at Tsinghua University. On November 16, 2023, Yuezhi Zhao, a communication scholar who studies the political economy of communication from a transcultural context, invited Dan Schiller, a critical political economy scholar and historian of information and communications to her doctoral course entitled A Global History of Journalism and Communication Theory at Tsinghua University, for an open dialogue. In this lively scholarly exchange, professors and student participants explored a wide range of issues at the nexus of communication, labor, and geopolitical dynamics from both historical and contemporary perspectives. In part 1 and 2, Yuezhi Zhao invited Dan Schiller to reflect on the intersections of communication and labor in the digital age; In Part 3, Dan Schiller responded to a list of questions submitted anonymously by the class ahead of time and identified by students on the spot.