Gender and Class at Work in Rural China under Mao
Status: This talk is in preparation - details may change
The gendering of work has been the subject of many scholarships on Maoist China. Most labour was gendered in some way, which, in some instances, the Maoist state attempted to change. This talk analyses rural teaching, as well as agricultural work. As peasants who were also intellectuals, rural teachers occupied an ambiguous position within Maoist status hierarchies, which meant that profession developed differently in rural and urban contexts. The talk shows that there were formidable barriers to women’s entry into teaching in rural areas, but the profession had no gender pay gap, which was the result of the Maoist construction of excellence in teaching. Changes in gender roles in agriculture have been the subject of more research by other scholars. This discussion surveys the evidence and discusses responses to the challenging of traditional norms. Women’s Federation archives provide a rich body of reporting on enduring stereotypes and (dis)engagement from work. This must be read carefully and in light of a set of ambiguities which present considerable challenges to historians. These include the Federation’s own position on the margins of the state, as well as the fact that the increasing participation of women in agriculture was sometimes the result of state activism, and sometimes the result of socio-economic change unrelated to government intentions or actions.
Date: 28 November 2019, 17:00 (Thursday, 7th week, Michaelmas 2019)
Venue: Dickson Poon Building, Canterbury Road OX2 6LU
Venue Details: Kin-ku Cheng Lecture Theatre, China Centre
Speaker: Dr Joseph Lawson (Newcastle University)
Organisers: Dr Jérôme Doyon (University of Oxford), Dr Christopher Foster (University of Oxford), Dr Hannah Theaker (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: jerome.doyon@area.ox.ac.uk
Part of: China Centre Seminar
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Paola Quevedo Garzon