Contemporary Chinese Society: Inequality and Social Stratification

This course examines contemporary Chinese society (1949 to the present). It has three main objectives: (1) to examine the social institutions and structures (e.g., family, household registration system, and education system) shaping everyday life, and the major sources (e.g., gender, urban/rural origin, and class) of inequality in Chinese society; (2) to understand contemporary Chinese society from historical perspectives (e.g., the socialist and post-socialist transitions), and explore the causes and consequences of social change and continuity; and (3) to examine Chinese society from a comparative perspective (e.g., inequality level by international standard), and in relation to key concepts and debates in sociology.