Zepeng ZhouGraduate Student

• MA, Sociology, Beijing Normal University, 2023
• BA, Sociology, Beijing Normal University, 2020 

• Cultural Sociology
• Digital Sociology
• Work and Organization
• Media Studies
• Economic Sociology
• Youth Studies
• Mixed Methods

I am particularly intrigued by the cultural, organizational, and economic transformations within the digital landscape. My primary research focus resides at the intersection between cultural sociology and digital sociology, encompassing topics about creative industries, social media, and the new economy.

My ongoing project seeks to understand how digital platforms facilitate and shape new organizational forms of collective cultural production. More specifically, I deploy a relational and organizational approach to examine the mass-production of beauty influencers in China based on ethnographic data from a content creation company. As an offshoot of this project, I am concurrently working on another study about pricing dynamics and inequalities among online influencers. Apart from this line, I am also drawn to the group culture and community of young generations. In a previous study, I analyzed the sociability of middle-class immigrant youth in Beijing and their meaning-making of public participation in a public space. Outside of my academic pursuits, you will likely find me immersed in feature films and K-pop.