This course provides a basic overview of how contemporary society in China works. We will investigate the political-economy of the PRC from the bottom-up: How do people get educated? How do they find jobs? What factors shape the workplace? How do people build families and pass on status and wealth to the next generation? How do people stay "safe"? How do ideas of gender influence people's lives? How do people interact with "the system" (the political order of the PRC)? How do conflicts between people get resolved? How does growing up in rural or urban environments affect life outcomes? What is it like to be a religious or ethnic minority? How is information created and disseminated? How is culture produced? Who gets to make "culture" and how? How does the government make policy and how do these policies get implemented on the ground? Although the class will focus on answering these questions for present-day China, we will also take into consideration the historical development of Chinese society since the collapse of the imperial system in 1912 and especially since founding of the People's Republic of China.
- Trainer/in: Max Oidtmann