Constructing The Professionalization Of Journalism In Modern China

Observing the journalism education in the Republic of China, this dissertation aims to explore how the professionalization of journalism was constructed in modern China.As is known, the department of Journalism in Yanjing University held a predominant position in the history of Chinese journalism. To intensively analyze how the journalism education constructed the professionalism of journalism, the dissertation selects it as the main case study in three aspects of how the journalism education constructed the professionalism of journalism, the cultivation of the professional habitus and ethics, the shaping of interests of professional class. In addition, combining the case studies of the department of journalism of Fudan University and the Journalism Institute of Peking, the dissertation dwells on how their students realized the reproduction of professional class from campus to newspaper with their cultural capital. In the conclusion part, the dissertation still tries to evaluate the journalism education in modern China from the level of professionalism. Professionalism plays an important part in the modernization of the nation. For this reason, journalism education is also one of the approaches on its way to modernization. In modern China, we can see a natural blending of vocational training and general education. Among others, the modern China also adopted strategies of ritual and discourse to gain a professional position. However, under the structural constraints in modern China, this kind of construction inevitably revealed its limitations.The structure of dissertation lays out as follows: Chapter One works as the introduction with an emphasis on the origin of the topic selecting and the research approach. Centering on newspaper organizations, press groups and journalistic education, Chapter Two probes into the news field of China in the 1920’s, sorting out modern higher education and the emerging of the professional class since these two aspects had become an important bachground for the birth of journalistic education and journalistic class in the Republican period. Chapter Three analyzes the constructing function for journalistic education and professionalization from the aspects of professional knowledge system, professional habitus and professional-class tastes. From the case studies of Yenching University and Ta Kung Pao, Chapter Four explores how graduate of journalism entered the newspaper organizations from college to realize the reproduction of journalistic profession with a focus on the relation between the cultural capital of the graduates and the modern news fields. Chapter Five works as the conclusion, trying to evaluate the journalism education during the Republican period from the professionalized perspective.The innovation point of this dissertation mainly lies on its theoretical analysis.The dissertation takes its root in a process model or authority model. The perspective takes professionalism as a dynamical process to gain the authority, rather than a static attribute. Professionalism in this point is to maintain or to achieve the professional privilege and prestige, that is, the validity of professionalism. The path to validity involves the conflicts of different fields which can be categorized as fields. The goal for these conflicts unchangeably focuses on capital of diversified forms ranging from economy, cultural, science, religion, etc. Professionalism, therefore, relates itself to capitals. Vocational education is not only a critical link of professionalism, also a key way to be bestowed on cultural capital. Professionalism, therefore, is a proper entry point to do the dissertation.Meanwhile, the field theory of Bourdieu highlights a methodology of relational thinking which is used to interpret the professionalism in the perspective of process model. The field theory essentially is a practical theory about “field-capital-habitus”. In this context, basing on the effect and meaning to the professionalism of journalism brought by the journalism education, the cultural capital reveals its strong explanatory power.