On 28th November OxTalks will move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events' (full details are available on the Staff Gateway).
There will be an OxTalks freeze beginning on Friday 14th November. This means you will need to publish any of your known events to OxTalks by then as there will be no facility to publish or edit events in that fortnight. During the freeze, all events will be migrated to the new Oxford Events site. It will still be possible to view events on OxTalks during this time.
If you have any questions, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
This study investigates the short-, medium-, and long-term impacts of state censorship on knowledge production, focusing on the largest book banning in Chinese history, triggered by the creation of the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library in Four Sections) during 1772–1783. By analyzing publication data of over 161,000 books spanning from the 1660s to the 1940s, we find that categories subjected to more severe bans experienced a significant decline in publications in the decades following the bans (1780s to 1840s). However, as state control relaxed from the 1840s onwards, there was a marked resurgence in the publication of books in previously restricted categories. Further text analysis reveals notable spillover effects on less sensitive books in the same categories as those banned, indicating a chilling effect and associated self-censorship. We also document dynamic responses from publishers and authors, finding that the exit and entry of publishers help explain both the suppression and subsequent revival of knowledge production.
