Instructions:

Write a short essay addressing the following questions. This is not a research paper but an opportunity for you to do some thoughtful processing to integrate the readings, film, and discussions we have had thus far in the course. Making connections within and across the different course materials and demonstrating your command of some of the critical concepts discussed in class are good ways to do this.

Format:

Citational style is informal, in the following format (author’s last name, p. #).

Paper length should be 3-4 pages (strictly Minimum 3 full pages, Maximum 4 full pages), one-inch margin on all four sides, double-spaced,Times New Roman 12 point font.

On the top left corner write “BISGST397 Paper 2” followed by your full name and the date in the same line. No other words needed for the title. The page number should be inserted on the right top corner.

No need for Work Cited/Bibliography (won’t count as words).

Here is ansamplePreview the documentView in a new window for the format (please ignore the content. It’s a sample paper from another class).

You must strictly follow the format requirements.

Questions:

One major theme in the “Urbanization and Urban Life” unit is the formation of a new middle class through consumption (in housing, goods such as brand-name clothes, electronics, and expensive foods, hiring baomu etc.) and investment in education to acquire human capital. Based on Zhang’s 2010 book In Search of Paradise, and Fong’s 2004 Only Hope and 2011 book Paradise Redefined, discuss 1) how this new middle class is formed in urban China, 2) the cost of the formation of this “modern” middle-class identity both at the individual level and the societal level. 3) And finally how this process intensified new social stratification in post-Socialist urban China.

Critical concepts recommended for use:

— suzhi

— social stratification

— human capital

— neoliberalism

— modernity

Only use the terms when you feel you understand what they mean and when they are useful analytical tools to write the paper.