Date of Award

6-1-2013

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

Weili Ye

Second Advisor

Ruth Miller

Third Advisor

Zhang Wu

Abstract

This thesis examines how the memory of the Cultural Revolution is used on the Chinese internet by China's post-80's generation and the Chinese Communist Party to describe and highlight examples of social instability. These comparisons are representative of the broad historical narrative written by the Party which forms the basis of how China's younger generations learn about and internalize the Cultural Revolution. This study analyzes how the memory of the Cultural Revolution is held by China's post-80's generation as viewed through the lens of the Chinese Internet. Specifically, this research engages with the intended purposes of the post-80's generation for invoking memories of the Cultural Revolution on the Chinese Internet. This revival and re-characterization of the Cultural Revolution's social memory holds complex meanings for how China's post-1980's generation defines the Cultural Revolution.

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