The Individualization of Chinese Society

by Yan, Yunxiang

• ISBN13: 9781847883780
• ISBN10: 1847883788
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-12-15
• Publisher: Berg Pub Ltd

Summary

Chinese society has seen phenomenal change in the last 30 years. Two of the most profound changes have been the rise of the individual in both public and private spheres and the consequent individualization of Chinese society itself. Yet, despite China's recent dramatic entrance into global politics and economics, neither of these significant shifts has been fully analyzed. China presents an alternative model of social transformation in the age of globalization, therfore its path to development may have particular implications for the developing world. The Individualization of Chinese Society reveals how individual agency has been on the rise since the 1970s and how this has impacted on everyday life and Chinese society more broadly. The book presents a wide range of detailed case studies focusing on the impact of economic policy, patterns of kinship, changes in marriage relations and the socio-economic position of women, the development of youth culture, the politics of consumerism, and shifting power relations in everyday life. Exploring the rise of the individual in both rural and urban settings, The Individualization of Chinese Society provides a detailed overview of this major social phenomenon and its wider implications.

Author Biography

Yunxiang Yan is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. ix
Foreword	p. xi
Introduction: The Rise of the Chinese Individual	p. xv
The Impact of Rural Reform on Economic and Social Stratification	p. 3
Changes in Everyday Power Relations	p. 25
The Triumph of Conjugality: Structural Transformation of Family Relations	p. 57
Practicing Kinship, Remaking the Individual	p. 85
Rural Youth and Youth Culture	p. 109
Girl Power: Young Women and the Waning of Patriarchy	p. 133
The Individual and Transformation of Bridewealth	p. 155
How to Be a Calculating yet Nice Person?	p. 183
The Politics of Consumerism	p. 207
Of Hamburger and Social Space: The Making of New Sociality	p. 243
Conclusion: The Individualization of Chinese Society	p. 273
Permissions	p. 295
Index	p. 297
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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