Down to the countryside
January 8, 2014 4:02 AM Subscribe
Journal of Peasant Studies special on rural politics in contemporary China. Free access to "twelve contributions, spanning history, anthropology, sociology, environmental studies, political science, and geography, address enduring questions in peasant studies, including the relationship between states and peasants, taxation, social movements, rural-urban linkages, land rights and struggles, gender relations, and environmental politics."
This post was deleted for the following reason: Doh, more paywalled than expected. -- cortex
Doesn't the term "peasant" imply a feudal society? I.e., if one isn't the chattel of a baron or landowner, belonging to them along with the land one is on, can one still be a peasant in any meaningful sense?
posted by acb at 4:50 AM on January 8, 2014
posted by acb at 4:50 AM on January 8, 2014
Doesn't the term "peasant" imply a feudal society?
I get where you're coming from as it certainly evokes those associations, but AFAIK the etymology only implies someone who lives in the countryside. Terence Byres who was one of the founding editors of the journal is well known in rural and development studies and I suspect he and colleagues were deliberate in employing the term though can't find an accessible explicit discussion from them on a cursory search.
I think it's also used to suggest a particular relationship to the state, as for instance how in China today household registration (hukou) still distinguishes between rural and urban identities, with different associated rights and benefits (also restrictions, which has led to discussions of second-class citizenship for rural people).
posted by Abiezer at 6:09 AM on January 8, 2014
I get where you're coming from as it certainly evokes those associations, but AFAIK the etymology only implies someone who lives in the countryside. Terence Byres who was one of the founding editors of the journal is well known in rural and development studies and I suspect he and colleagues were deliberate in employing the term though can't find an accessible explicit discussion from them on a cursory search.
I think it's also used to suggest a particular relationship to the state, as for instance how in China today household registration (hukou) still distinguishes between rural and urban identities, with different associated rights and benefits (also restrictions, which has led to discussions of second-class citizenship for rural people).
posted by Abiezer at 6:09 AM on January 8, 2014
Are you sure there's free access to the whole journal? For me, only the opening essay is available.
posted by naturalog at 6:41 AM on January 8, 2014
posted by naturalog at 6:41 AM on January 8, 2014
Damn, it certainly was all full access at time of posting. Must have been time limited,which I should have noticed; my apologies-I'll ask a mod to delete.
posted by Abiezer at 7:02 AM on January 8, 2014
posted by Abiezer at 7:02 AM on January 8, 2014
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posted by anotherpanacea at 4:44 AM on January 8, 2014