World Between Us: A Conversation with Professor Xiang Biao

The Strength of Akwardness

With the global economic stagnation, political polarization, and the shrinking of freedom, educated migrants from China in different parts of the world find themselves in an awkward position. They feel it equally difficult to stay in where they are or to return to China. They are consumed by increasing anxieties about career prospect, family formation, and ageing parents. Behind these anxieties are the changing relations between the global geopolitics, formal institutions, family, and individuals in China and beyond. The awkwardness indicates the breakdown of the post-1990s model of what counts as a good life. In this awkwardness we search new wisdom and strengths that may help to reimagine and reorganize life.
 

困窘的力量

随着国际经济和政治形势的变化，越来越多的在海外求学和工作的年轻人感到困窘。留不下来，也回不去；有时候甚至是既不想留、也不想回。工作和生计的焦虑、成家焦虑、和照顾父母的焦虑，可能都在上升。这些焦虑的背后，反映了1990年代建立起来的全球化想象、正式制度、家庭、和个人之间的关系的变化。困窘显示了原来对什么是好生活的想象的内在矛盾。困窘也显示了重新思考和组织生活的可能。

Speaker

Professor Xiang Biao is a renowned sociologist and anthropologist, a professor of social anthropology at the University of Oxford, and the Director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. His research focuses on globalization, migration, social change, and the structural transformation of Chinese society. He has long been dedicated to studying the social changes within global Chinese communities. His notable works include Transcending Boundaries: Zhejiangcun—The Story of a Migrant Village in Beijing, Self as Method, and Global "Body Shopping": An Indian Labor System in the Information Technology Industry.

Event Info

“We hope to bridge China and Germany with our knowledge and experience, yet in a rapidly changing social environment, we often feel powerless. We choose, voluntarily or involuntarily, to start a new life in Germany, yet every time we return home, we find ourselves speechless in the face of the expectations and longings of our aging family members. We are well aware of the alienation brought by social atomization, yet we also experience firsthand how difficult it is to integrate into society and find like-minded individuals in a foreign land.”
These are some of the recurring concerns raised by the Chinese community in Germany during the past three years of activities organized by 706Berlin e.V. Since its founding, 706Berlin e.V. has been committed to creating a platform centered on community democracy, fostering discussions on culture, society, and politics to provide young Chinese in Germany with a space for free dialogue. In collaboration with BCCN, 706Berlin e.V. invites Biao Xiang for an interactive event to discuss experiences of immigrating as Chinese in Germany.