Bin Xu is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Emory University.
The 2008 Sichuan earthquake killed 87,000 people and left 5 million homeless. In response to the devastation, an unprecedented wave of volunteers and civic associations streamed into Sichuan to offer help. The Politics of Compassion examines how civically engaged citizens acted on the ground, how they understood the meaning of their actions, and how the political climate shaped their actions and understandings.
Using extensive data from interviews, observations, and textual materials, Bin Xu shows that the large-scale civic engagement was not just a natural outpouring of compassion, but also a complex social process, both enabled and constrained by the authoritarian political context. While volunteers expressed their sympathy toward the affected people's suffering, many avoided explicitly talking about the causes of the suffering—particularly in the case of the collapse of thousands of schools. Xu shows that this silence and apathy is explained by a general inability to discuss politically sensitive issues while living in a repressive state. This book is a powerful account of how the widespread death and suffering caused by the earthquake illuminates the moral-political dilemma faced by Chinese citizens and provides a window into the world of civic engagement in contemporary China.
發表於2024-11-25
The Politics of Compassion 2024 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載
圖書標籤: 社會學 政治社會學 中國政治 社會運動 汶川 死亡 政治學 中國研究
structural conditions at the macro level & agents & a case in China
評分I did not get the distinguished feature of politics of compassion. This book is full of stories and details, supported by news, policies and interview data. But it's lack of theoretical inquiry. It's also a pity that the author did not give a clear definition of civic engagement, which is actually controversial concept in English literature.
評分I did not get the distinguished feature of politics of compassion. This book is full of stories and details, supported by news, policies and interview data. But it's lack of theoretical inquiry. It's also a pity that the author did not give a clear definition of civic engagement, which is actually controversial concept in English literature.
評分災後救援與恢復重建時期社會組織和公民參與為什麼被以不同態度對待;三天降旗哀悼儀式何以被設立;國傢如何塑造引導抗震救災記憶,豆腐渣校捨問題如何被遮蔽,關於事件的調查如何被鎮壓。In the long run,the post-earthquake civic engagement did not lead to significant changes in structural relations between the state and civil society,civil society became even more fragmented.The real problem is not about civil society per se but about the polity.
評分I did not get the distinguished feature of politics of compassion. This book is full of stories and details, supported by news, policies and interview data. But it's lack of theoretical inquiry. It's also a pity that the author did not give a clear definition of civic engagement, which is actually controversial concept in English literature.
The Politics of Compassion 2024 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載