Walking off the Altar: “Overstepping the Bounds” for Scholars
"Overstepping the Bounds" was originally an Internet slang. It meant that the influence of celebrities or idols was no longer limited to fan circles, but was widely known. Many university scholars achieved a leap from academic circles to mass circles in order to expand their cultural influence in the past 2020. “Overstepping the Bounds” for scholars has aroused strong topical discussion on Internet platforms, even become a new cultural phenomenon.
These scholars, each with very specialized fields of expertises, made good use of Internet platforms. They cared about social hotspots and tried to dialogue with the public, thus realizing the benign interaction between Elite Culture and Mass Culture.
"Criminal Law said by Luo Xiang", the Uploader of the well-known domestic video barrage website Bilibili, won the "Annual Most Popular" Award at the Top 100 Uploaders Award Ceremony on the evening of January 30th. Currently, “Criminal Law said by Luo Xiang” has more than 12 million fans on website Bilibili. As a law professor from China University of Political Science and Law, Luo Xiang not only teaches law students with his professional law knowledge, in-depth case analysis and humorous teaching language, but also makes the general public interested in criminal law and consciously thinks about the spirit of the rule of law. His original intention is to let the public understand criminal law, so that to respond the call of establishing a Socialist Law-Based Country.
Similarly, Liang Yongan, a professor in Chinese Literature of Fudan University, also settled in website Bilibili to become an Uploader. Compared with serious college classrooms and reading lectures, he directly confronts social hotspots related to young people on the Internet, for example, the phenomenon of Involution, the dilemma of contemporary Youngsters, Versailles Literature. Through the comments of young people in the video barrage, Liang Yongan can get a closer look at the true thoughts of young people. Liang Yongan believes that the special year 2020 is rare for young people to establish a public consciousness. They will have a new experience of the value and responsibility in modern society.
“The education of universities should not be confined to campuses built by walls, but serve whole society under appropriate conditions,” said well-known scholar Chen Sihe. The increasingly solidified ivory tower cuts off the relationship between academic research and social practice. Academic knowledge is difficult to get off the altar and play a role in general education. And Mass Culture is increasingly entertaining and vulgar, losing the guidance and norms of correct values.
With the popularization of Internet technology and the opening of media platforms, Internet platforms have become a public space for the development of Mass Culture, presenting complex social forms and practical problems. And cultural demand of entertainment supremacy brings about the vulgarization of national cultural psychology and value disorder. Intellectuals, maintaining continuous observation of public life, have a high sense of social responsibility and positive value ethics. Especially, some college scholars with outstanding achievements in professional academic fields, such as Luo Xiang, Liang Yongan, etc, are willing to serve as a medium for communicating Elite Culture and Mass Culture. The convenience of the Internet provides a platform to achieve a cultural win-win situation.
In the latest talent talk show "Weirdo Talk," philosophy professor Liu Qing from East China Normal University became one of the mentors. The "Weirdo Talk," which is both speculative and entertaining, provides the possibility of combining serious knowledge with popular entertainment and giving the public space to think. And Liu Qing is willing to become a bridge between the ivory tower and public space. His widespread attention and public recognition show that it is meaningful to bring academic knowledge and serious thoughts from the ivory tower into public discussion.
In fact, the cultural influence of these scholars I mentioned above will continue for a long time. The “Overstepping the Bounds” for scholars is not just to impart professional knowledge, but to teach the public – especially young people – how to think critically in the era of information explosion. As Luo Xiang said, “True knowledge must go out of the book den and affect every mind that is willing to think.” The contemporary youngsters urgently need a value-oriented guide which can provide them with new perspectives and possible ways of looking at the world.
In a word, the cultural phenomenon of “Overstepping the Bounds” for scholars shows that today's social public space needs a group of intellectuals with rigorous academic thoughts and social care, stepping out of the ivory tower and entering public space, turning serious thoughts into general knowledge, and guiding social and cultural progress, so that to create a good cultural ecology.
This commentary reflects the author’s personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Global Engagement Academy Shandong University (Weihai).
Zhang Haiyu, postgraduate student, Shandong University (Weihai).
张海玉，山东大学（威海）硕士生
