Ethnographies of Contemporary China

Undergraduate / Graduate

Through reading and discussion of recent ethnographies, we will explore key issues shaping everyday life in globally interconnected Chinese contexts. Topics explored will include environmental issues, consumption, technology and media, ethics and values, relations to the past and aspirations toward the future, and other major matters of concern in China today. Throughout, we will consider ethnography as a methodological approach, an interpretive project, and a form of writing, and ask what this mode of knowledge production is uniquely poised to offer. Students will develop independent research projects throughout the quarter, culminating in a final paper that resonates with the themes of the course.