Cultural Reverse

The book proposes a new academic concept, "Cultural Reverse" ( ), referring to the phenomenon that the older generation started to learn from the younger generation since the 1980s in China, and analyzes the multiple causes and social impacts of this trend.

Autorentext

Zhou Xiaohong served as dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Nanjing University for 16 years; now he is a senior professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at Nanjing University. His main research fields are sociological theory, social psychology, and contemporary China studies.

Klappentext

The book proposes a new academic concept, "Cultural Reverse" ( ), referring to the phenomeno beginning in China in the 1980s in which the older generation started to learn from the younger generation, and analyses the multiple causes and social impacts of this trend. Following on from the first volume, this second volume further analyses the multiple causes of cultural reverse, including rapid social change, the influence of peer groups, and the impact of the media. Then, in a broader context, the author discusses the complex interdependence of and conflict among the State, society, and youth. He tells a story of the transformation of Chinese youth over the past hundred years, and names this "one-place" (fast-changing China) and "one-time only" (unrepeatable) phenomenon "China feeling". The innovative content of the book pushes the barriers of the academic field. Scholars of Chinese sociology and general readers interested in contemporary Chinese society will find this book to be essential.

Inhalt

1. Social Transition as the Impetus to Refurbish History 2. The Peer Group as Knowledge Reservoir and Extended Memory 3. The Media: More About Survival than Information 4. What Has Been Ushered in by Cultural Reverse? 5. Conclusion: State, Society, and Intergenerational Relations