The Seminar will be held in English. Blockseminar, bi-weekly, online. Starting in the 2. week.
Lecturers:
- Ava Lynam, CCST, TU Berlin avarlynam@gmail.com
- Gaoli Xiao, Habitat Unit, TU Berlin, gaoli.xiao@tu-berlin.de
Content:
This seminar explores new dynamics of Chinese migration that have emerged in recent years. Since China’s 1978 Economic Reform, increasingly globalised and market-driven urbanisation has led to the formation of mega-urban regions which have been propelled by the cheap labour of millions of rural migrants (Altrock and Schoon 2014; Fokdal and Herrle 2019). Rural decline coupled with urban expansion has driven a highly mobile ‘floating population’ to move between domestic and cross-border regions, with variegated integration into existing societies and polarisation among social groups (Meyer- Clement 2016; Li et al 2018). According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the floating population in China reached 290 million in 2021, which accounts for 20.7% of the total population. This is an increase of 60 million from 2011. In recent years – as a result of the overcrowding of first and second tier cities and the implementation of nationwide rural development policies – China's internal migration is no longer merely characterised by rural to urban flows, but also shows emerging patterns of rural (inland) to rural (coastal), rural to town, and a small reverse flow from urban to rural. At the same time, trans-local investment, production lines, and infrastructural projects as part of China’s 2015 One Belt One Road Initiative are transforming not only domestic rural areas but many others outside its national borders . Alongside the flows of trade, investment and infrastructure,are vast flows of labour attracted by investment and employment opportunities by such projects in foreign borderland zones, many of which are characterised by enclave development practices (Strangio 2020; Muttarak 2017). A comprehensive investigation of population mobility and related policies and drivers is therefore of great significance to understand the trajectory and characteristics of China's urbanisation and its impact on both a domestic and global scale. In this seminar, we look at diverse socio-spatial practices of different types of migrants within the Chinese floating population and their role in shaping the development of inter and cross-border regions. We start by diving into empirical cases of emerging forms of migration at a local and individual level, after which we explore the dynamics behind such phenomena from a broader perspective by analysing a range of social, economic, and policy factors. In doing so, we not only seek to understand the individual, family, and collective choices and push-pull factors of migration, but also investigate the structural drivers behind such emerging mobilities through socio-spatial transformation.
References:
Altrock, U. and Schoon, S. (2014): The Pearl River Delta in Progressive Transformation. In: Altrock, U. and Schoon, S. (eds): Maturing Megacities: The Pearl River Delta in Progressive Transformation. Springer Science + Business Media, Dordrecht, pp.4- 10
Fokdal, J. and Herrle, P. (2019): Fewer Contestations, More Negotiations – A Multi-scalar Understanding of the ‘Politics of Informal Urbanisation’ in Southern China. In: Rocco, R. and van Ballegooijen, J. (eds): The Routledge Handbook on Informal Urbanisation. Routledge, Abingdon-on-Thames, pp.87-96
Li, Y., Jia, L., Wu, W., Yan, J., Liu, Y. (2018): Urbanisation for rural sustainability - Rethinking China’s Urbanisation Strategy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 178, pp.580-585
Meyer-Clement, E. (2016): The Great Urban Leap? On the Local Political Economy of Rural Urbanisation in China. Journal of Current Chinese Affairs. 4(1), pp.109-139
Muttarak, R. (2017): Moving Along the Belt and Road: Implications of China’s “One Belt, One Road” Strategies on Chinese Migration. Translocal Chinese East Asian Perspectives, 11(2), pp.312-332
National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2021. China Statistical Yearbook - 2021. China Statistics Press. Strangio, S. (2020): In the Dragon's Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century. Yale University Press, New Haven & London.
31319101 Center for Cultural Studies on Science and Technology in China (CCST)
12:00 - 18:00, Fr. 28.04 - 23.06.23, alle 2 Wochen
0min/0min
Online