Cambridge University Press Contemporary China: Society and Social Change

China's rapid economic growth, modernization and globalization have led to astounding social changes. Contemporary China provides a fascinating portrayal of society and social change in the contemporary People's Republic of China. This book introduces readers to key sociological perspectives, themes and debates about Chinese society. It explores topics such as family life, citizenship, gender, ethnicity, labour, religion, education, class and rural/urban inequalities. It considers China's imperial past, the social and institutional legacies of the Maoist era, and the momentous forces shaping it in the present. It also emphasises diversity and multiplicity, encouraging readers to consider new perspectives and rethink Western stereotypes about China and its people. Real-life case studies illustrate the key features of social relations and change in China. Definitions of key terms, discussion questions and lists of further reading help consolidate learning. Including full-colour maps and photographs, this book offers remarkable insight into Chinese society and social change. Book Description Introduces readers to key sociological perspectives about modern Chinese society and social change. About the Author Tamara Jacka's primary research interests are in gender and rural/urban inequalities; and the interconnections between social change and individual experiences and agency. She has carried out field research in a number of sites in northern and central China. She is the author of four books: Women, Gender and Rural Development in China (co-edited with Sally Sargeson; Edward Elgar, 2011), Rural Women in Urban China: Gender, Migration and Social Change (M. E. Sharpe, 2006), On the Move: Women and Rural-to-Urban Migration in Contemporary China (co-edited with Arianne Gaetano; Columbia University Press, 2004) and Women's Work in Rural China: Change and Continuity in an Era of Reform (Cambridge University Press, 1997). Her book, Rural Women in Urban China, won the American Anthropological Association's Francis Hsu award for Best Book in East Asian Anthropology (2007). She is also a co-editor of the journal Critical Asian Studies and a member of the American Anthropological Association, the Association for Asian Studies, the Asian Studies Association of Australia and the Chinese Studies Association of Australia. She has over twelve years' experience of teaching undergraduate courses on Chinese society and politics, and supervises postgraduate students in Chinese studies, gender studies, anthropology and development studies.Andrew B. Kipnis is the author of more than forty articles and three books on Chinese society – Governing Educational Desire: Culture, Politics and Schooling in China (University of Chicago Press, 2011), China and Postsocialist Anthropology: Theorizing Power and Society after Communism (Eastbridge, 2008) and Producing Guanxi: Sentiment, Self and Subculture in a North China Village (Duke University Press, 1997). He is also co-editor of The China Journal and a Fellow of the American Anthropological Association, the Australian Anthropological Society, The Association for Asian Studies and the Chinese Studies Association of Australia. He has taught courses on Chinese Culture and Society, Chinese Public Culture and Religions in China as well as courses on various sub-disciplines of anthropology. He has carried out field research in a number of sites in both rural and urban China.Sally Sargeson's research explores how ordinary people contribute to the extraordinary changes occurring in China's countryside. She has published numerous journal articles and three books, Women, Gender and Rural Development in China (co-edited with Tamara Jacka, published by Edward Elgar, 2011), Collective Goods, Collective Futures in Asia (Routledge, 2002) and Reworking China's Proletariat (Macmillan, 1999). A member of the Association for Asian Studies, the Chinese Studies Association of Australia