Monica Liu’s talk explores the life histories and decision-making processes of Chinese women who seek marriages with Western men. How do emerging inequalities brought on by China’s transition from state socialism toward a global market economy shape their desires to seek out migration via marriage? This talk compares how Chinese women from diverse class backgrounds envision a relatively homogenous group of men: Western men in agriculture, manufacturing and small business sectors who feel they have been left behind by globalization. Through analyzing modest-earning Western men’s declining appeal to middle and upper-middle class Chinese women, Liu’s work sheds light on China’s changing relationship with the global north.

Speaker:

• Monica Liu, Assistant Professor, University of St. Thomas

Moderator:

• Richard Madsen, Director, Fudan-UC Center on Contemporary China; Distinguished Professor of Sociology, UC San Diego