Is the medium the message in Asia?
The question of what constitutes media and space are key topics in relation to Marshall McLuhan's work and Jerome Mcgann's piece on critical editions and hypertexts. McGann's work explores the continuity between the pre-digital and the digital. At the same time, the potential of the hypertext is that it can take critical practice beyond the limits of pieces of paper. It is precisely this claim that intersects with McLuhan's work where he claims, "The medium is the message." It is not simply the content of the digital that is a break from the past, but that digital media itself is a message about how we can convey information at an increasingly rapid speed.
With these issues in mind, notion of what constitutes media in Asia emerges. Does the particularities of Asia change the message of the digital medium? Is the notion of the “medium is the message” one that can be universalized? Kuan-Hsing Chen’s “Asia as method” seem to lean towards one that emphasizes that such a message cannot be universal but still influential. Asia as method seeks to decentralize the “West” as a theoretical referent and, instead, use Asia as a way to cross-reference and analyze socio-political conditions. By using Asia as method, a critical approach must be used in not only a critique of the “West” as a hegemonic concept but also work towards interrogating the notion of “Asia” and nation-states, such as China and Japan. What goes into establishing “Asia” and what is at stake when such notions are left undefined?