ANTH-325 Urban Tensions in China

Professor Pan

This course examines urban China from the "bottom up," with an emphasis on the structure of everyday life. We will be reading ethnographic case studies as our entry into understanding Chinese social, cultural, political, and economic processes. We will explore several major themes focusing on the contradictions and dialectics of urbanprocesses: the reconfiguration of urban spaces and place-making; the continuing divisions of people created by political power and the global flow capital knowledge, and ideas of modernity; the collective experiences of the everyday life in various urban communities; the centrality of individual voices and expression and the use of urban tools to resist, control, and manipulate; the impact of unruly places on the perceptions of illegality in relation to social order and official ideology. Topics to be covered include: community redevelopment and neighborhood gentrification; "Mao nostalgia" and the politics of historical memory; unemployment, aging, and welfare transition; the Shanghai Stock Market and social re-stratification; the SARS crisis and public policy reform; the challenge of Falungong and religious practices; "drifting population" and rural-urban migration; globalization and consumer revolution; family planning; and youth culture.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: None

Other academic years
There is information about this course number in other academic years:

• 2004-2005 Fall and Spring
• 2005-2006 Fall and Spring
• 2006-2007 Fall and Spring
• 2009-2010 Fall and Spring
• 2011-2012 Fall and Spring
• 2012-2013 Fall and Spring

More information
Look for this course in the schedule of classes.

The academic department web site for this program may provide other details about this course.