Lessons in being Chinese : minority education and ethnic identity in Southwest China /
Saved in:
| Author / Creator: | Hansen, Mette Halskov, author. |
|---|---|
| Imprint: | Seattle : University of Washington Press, ©1999. |
| Description: | 1 online resource (xxi, 205 pages) : illustrations, maps |
| Language: | English |
| Series: | Studies on ethnic groups in China Studies on ethnic groups in China. |
| Subject: | |
| Format: | E-Resource Book |
| URL for this record: | http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/11780490 |
| Summary: | Two very different ethnic minority communities -- the Naxi of the Lijiang area in northern Yunnan and the Tai (Dai) of Sipsong Panna (Xishuangbanna), along Yunnan's border with Burma and Laos -- are featured in this comparative study of the implementation and reception of state minority education policy in the People's Republic of China. Based on field research and historical sources, Lessons in Being Chinese argues that state policy, which is intended to be applied uniformly across all minority regions, in fact is much more successful in some areas than in others.In Lijiang, elite members of the Naxi ethnic group (minzu) have a centuries-old connection with Chinese state educational systems as avenues to social mobility, and have continued this tradition under Communist rule. In contrast, Sipsong Panna functioned in many ways as a separate kingdom until 1950, with its own script and an educational system centered in Theravada Buddhist monasteries. Today, most Tai parents in the area still prefer monastic education for their sons.This study finds that standardized, homogenizing state education is in itself incapable of instilling in students an identification with the Chinese state, ironically often increasing ethnic identity. Lessons in Being Chinese enhances our understanding of how state policy toward minorities works in many areas of life, and its conclusions can be extended well beyond the sphere of education. It will be of interest to both anthropologists and educators. |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xxi, 205 pages) : illustrations, maps |
| Format: | Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-198) and index. |
| ISBN: | 029598063X 9780295980638 9789622095045 9622095046 0295978090 9780295978093 0295977884 9780295977881 9780295804125 0295804122 9789882203792 9882203795 9780295804118 9780295996585 0295996587 |