by Prof. Dr Jeroen de Kloet, Project leader

This project aims to develop a theory of precarity and gender in postsocialist China. The rapid reforms in China have resulted in increased inequalities that are articulated along the lines of class and gender. Drawing on the recent literatures on the increasing precarity of everyday life in neoliberal societies, this project probes into the similarities as well as differences in an authoritarian society, in which the state penetrates deeply into the everyday lives of its citizenry.

In this year, different objects – consisting of art works, a movie or television show – that engage with the issues of urbanity, gender and precarity, will be selected for further analysis. The objects also involve those that will be on display at the Shanghai seminar (selection of artists is pending on current mapping of possibilities).

Simultaneously, in close cooperation with the other PI’s, a theoretical framework will be further developed to frame the project as a whole, in which we draw from theories in gender studies, comparative urban studies, postcolonial studies and Asian studies, culminating in a co-authored article.