The course aims to investigate the interplay of political, economic, technological and cultural factors in the production, dissemination and consumption of mediated messages in China. It covers a wide range of issues, including an overview of the mass media and new media industries; the interaction between media and key institutions such as the state, the market and civil society; the social implications of new media technologies; as well as the aesthetics of different types of media events and their relations to identity construction and social change. The course combines a number of theoretical perspectives, including political economic, organizational and cultural approaches, socio-psychological approaches, and the computational approach, in examining media and communication within the Chinese contexts. The course aims to provide practical implications for the students to motivate innovation in the job markets, transferring the expertise obtained from this course to solve pressing problems in the digital age.