Gender and the Family in China

08/26/13 • 70 min

Gender and family relations in China have changed dramatically over the past century, reflecting the socio-economic and political transformation of the country from a feudal-dynastic realm under the Qing empire to a modern nation-state ruled by the Chinese Communist Party. This lecture traces this evolution by comparing workplace, marriage and reproductive politics from the late dynastic period, Mao-era and post-reform China, identifying Confucianism, communist ideology and market forces as critical drivers of this change.

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Deng Xiaoping and the Chinese Economic Miracle

Since the inauguration of Deng Xiaoping’s economic reform program in 1978, China has grown to become the world’s second-largest economic power. It’s export-driven economic model has seen it become the locus of global economic production and the world’s largest creditor state. This lecture examines the pivotal role of Deng Xiaoping in reforming China’s Mao Zedong-era command economy, tracing the contours of Deng’s reform program and identifying looming challenges ahead for China’s economic miracle.

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Popular Culture and the CCP Social Bargain

Young people have been at the vanguard of every significant social movement in China for over a century, yet the youth archetype has changed significantly over this period. This lecture explores what it means to be a young person in China today, examining the relationship of Chinese youth with the one-party state and the Communist Party’s grand legitimacy bargain, along with their interactions with the market economy and the world outside of China.