Subaltern China: Rural Migrants, Media, and Cultural Practices (Asia/Pacific/Perspectives)

"Behind China's growing economic and political power is a vast underworld of marginalized social groups. In this powerful and timely book, Wanning Sun focuses on the country's hundreds of millions of rural migrant workers, who embody China's most intractable problems of inequality. Drawing on rich and extensive fieldwork, the author argues that despite the critical role their labor has played in enabling and sustaining the country's remarkable economic growth, workers and peasants have become the nation's 'subalterns.' Sun focuses especially on the role of media and culture in negotiating the unequal relationships that exist between various social groups. She shows that in the face of the harsh reality of injustice and discrimination, China's rural migrants engage in media and cultural practices that are at once both mundane and profound--invariably imbued with hope and dignity, and motivated by the dream of a better life. Exploring the cultural politics of inequality in post-Mao China, this engaging and compelling book will be essential reading for all concerned with the increasing centrality of media and the cultural politics of representation in our highly digitalized and mediated world." -- Provided by publisher Contents 8 Illustrations 10 Tables 12 Acknowledgments 14 Abbreviations 18 Part One. CONTEXT, METHOD, AND FRAMEWORK 20 Chapter One. Configuring the Nongmingong 22 Chapter Two. The Chinese Subaltern 46 Part Two. HEGEMONIC MEDIATIONS 72 Chapter Three. News Values, Stability Maintenance, and the Politics of Voice 74 Chapter Four. Urban Cinema and the Limits of Harmony Production 104 Part Three. SUBALTERN POLITICS 134 Chapter Five. Documentary Videos, Cultural Activism, and Alternative History 136 Chapter Six. Digital-Political Literacy and Photography as Self-Ethnography 170 Part Four CULTURAL BROKERING 202 Chapter Seven. Worker-Poets, Political Intervention, and Cultural Brokering 204 Chapter Eight. Dagong Literature and a New Sexual-Moral Economy 236 Conclusion 264 Appendix 1A. Questionnaire on Consumption of Media and Culture among Migrant Workers (English Version) 276 Appendix 1B. Questionnaire on Consumption of Media and Culture among Migrant Workers (Chinese Version) 284 Notes 292 Glossary 296 References 298 Index 314 About the Author 320 General,Political Science,Social Science,Sociology,Anthropology,Language Arts & Disciplines,World,Media Studies,Regional Studies,Women's Studies,Gender Studies,Asian,Communication Studies In This Book, Wanning Sun Illuminates The Harsh Reality Of Inequality And Discrimination That China S Rural Migrant Workers Face Every Day, And How These Workers Use Available Media To Negotiate These Injustices. This Book Is Essential Reading For All Concerned With The Growing Use Of Media In The Cultural Politics Of Our Highly Digitalized World.