Love, Labor, and Leisure in Contemporary

This course takes an anthropological perspective on life in China today with special attention to the legacies of the country’s socialist past. We start with a brief look at the ideological and institutional frameworks employed by the Communist Party to organize the daily life of its citizens in the decades leading into the People’s Republic. We will then read about how economic and social reforms instituted since the 1980s, in particular changes to the work unit and household registration system, have resulted in dramatically different opportunities and expectations for Chinese citizens attempting to navigate career opportunities, search for romantic partners, move through communal and private spaces and engage in consumptive activities. Exploring the experiences of rural peasants, urban workers, and laborers who move between countryside and city as well as between nations, we will examine how class, gender, and sexuality come to be refigured as China integrates into the global market economy. Scholarly texts will be supplemented with political speeches, short work of fiction and essays, and films.