What Does It Take to Make a Creative Industries PhD｜Pengyun Lu #Episode 37

Dr Pengyun Lu's research focuses on a group that is reshaping contemporary culture—content creators on Chinese social media. He examines how these creators perform, produce, and navigate the complex ecosystem of platforms, algorithms, and audiences.Over four years of doctoral study at Warwick, he developed a research framework that bridges cultural studies, digital labour, and creative industries. Now a recent graduate and Research Assistant Professor at Lingnan University, he joins us to discuss:How do social media creators negotiate their identities online? What does "performance" mean in the age of short videos and live-streaming? And how did he manage to complete his PhD while building a research profile that landed him a faculty job straight out of graduation?This is a conversation about digital culture, academic strategy, and the realities of building a career in the humanities today.