400 pp. August 2002
paper, ISBN 978-0-8248-2577-5, $29.00
cloth, ISBN 978-0-8248-2335-1, $67.00
|
Keywords: |
Asia
China
sociology
history
textbook |
|
China Off Center: Mapping the Margins of the Middle Kingdom
ed. by Susan D. Blum; Lionel M. Jensen
“A highly unusual collection of essays, one which is sure to generate lively discussion. Its most exciting element is the generous coverage of areas and topics that are usually completely ignored but which will take on increasing importance in the coming years.” —Victor H. Mair, University of Pennsylvania
China Off Center takes as its fundamental assumption that contemporary China can only be understood as a complex, decentralized place, where the view from above (Beijing) and from tourist buses is a skewed one. Instead of generalizing about China, it demonstrates that this diverse national terrain is better conceived as it is experienced by Chinese, as a set of many Chinas. To that end, this anthology of interpretive essays and ethnographic reports focuses on the everyday, the particular, the local, and the puzzling. Together with contextualizing introductions, the readings provide students with a compelling look at some little-known but significant aspects of China from the past decade; for those already familiar with China, they furnish an assortment of uncommon viewpoints in a single, convenient volume.
Foreword by Prasenjit Duara
Contributors: A. Doak Barnett, Susan D. Blum, Diane Dorfman, Mary S. Erbaugh, Edward Friedman, Vincent E. Gil, Dru Gladney, Erwin J. Haeberle, Lionel M. Jensen, Andrew F. Jones, Eric Ivan Karchmer, Liu Binyan, Dalin Liu, Man Lun Ng, S. Robert Ramsey, Dorothy J. Solinger, Ann Tyson, James Tyson, Sydney White, David Yen-ho Wu, Li Ping Zhou.
Susan D. Blum is associate professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. Lionel M. Jensen is associate professor and chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the University of Notre Dame.
table of contents
|
