Belonging to the City: Cosmopolitanism, Urbanites and Chinese Cities

SMC Author

Jennifer Heung

SMC Affiliated Work

1

Author Role

author

Status

Faculty

School

School of Liberal Arts

Department

Anthropology

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Publication / Conference / Sponsorship

Vis-a-Vis: Explorations in Anthropology

Description/Abstract

As Chinese urban centers become populated with migrants, urbanites search for new ways to distinguish their social and economic status within urban space – practices which are often linked to transnational flows of culture and commodities. This paper explores the new formulations of Chinese identity within an urban space that is specifically influenced and constructed by globalization. I argue these new cultural practices of “urban cosmopolitanism” are motivated by class anxieties of urbanites, who fear the loss of their privileged positions. With the influx of mobility and increasing presences of internal migrants within cities, urban residents are no longer the only bodies allowed access to urban space.

Volume

9

Issue

1

First Page

1

Last Page

9

Disciplines

Anthropology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Original Citation

Heung, Jennifer. 2009. Belonging to the City: Cosmopolitanism, Urbanites and Chinese Cities. Vis-a-Vis: Explorations in Anthropology, 9(1):1-9.

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