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Sociological Perspectives on Urban China

From Familiar Territories to Complex Terrains

University of Illinois-Chicago, USA, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

Jiaming Sun

Texas A&M University-Commerce, USA

This article provides an integrated review of sociological perspectives and research on seven areas of inquiry regarding change and continuity in urban China over the past two decades or so. We begin with an assessment of the sociological literature on stratification and inequality in light of the state-market debate and its extensions. Then we evaluate the research on social networks as a resilient resource that can influence social stratification and social change. Next we examine the more interdisciplinary research on migration and migrant labor, highlighting its sociological insights. This is followed by a critical look at housing studies that have revealed a new residential landscape in the Chinese city. Then we present our take on the scholarly contributions to urban consumption, followed by a presentation and appraisal of studies of changing urban governance that have focused on the danwei and community. Our final review focus is the critical work on different forms of mobilization and resistance in response to tensions and conflicts from uneven reform and market transition. Following this extended albeit selective review of the rich and diverse literatures, we offer an overall assessment of their dominant themes, disciplinary weights, and diverse approaches. Finally, we advocate for more theorization, comparison, and integration as ways of advancing both sociological and interdisciplinary research on urban China.

Key Words: inequality • networks • migration • housing • consumption • governance • resistance

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