Readings: Nguyen Huy Thiep, "The General Retires" (article)
Rofel, Other Modernities: Gendered Yearnings in China after Socialism

1. A primary theme of "The General Retires" involves the emergence of an urbanized elite focused on acquiring money and spending it on consumer goods and other forms of consumption, such as lavish funerals. What roles do men and women play in these activities? What attitudes toward tradition, modernity, and morality do they seem to represent?

2. How does the vision of late socialist modernity depicted in "The General Retires" differ from Rofel's account of China in the 1980s and 90s? What role does gender play in constructing narratives about late socialist modernity?

3. While Rofel is inspired by Foucauldian discussions of modernity in anthropology, she also calls for addressing their limitations and biases. Why does she critique Foucauldian approaches to modernity? What corrections does she propose? Does her ethnography successfully support her theoretical arguments? Are you convinced by her critique and the substance of the alternative view she proposes?

4. What are the three cohorts of women that Rofel identifies? How do their subjectivities differ? While Rofel argues that these categories are "by no means uniform" (21), several reviewers have critiqued her for overstating their internal coherence and the differences between them. What do you think?

5. Rofel calls for a gendered approach to modernity. What does she mean? What are the strengths and weaknesses of her model?

6. Based on Rofel's book, how would you differentiate between late socialist versus capitalist forms of modernity?

 

Question for Response Paper #5: Gendered Narratives of Late Socialist Modernity

Rofel writes that "modernity exists as a narrated imaginary: it is a story people tell themselves about themselves in relation to others" (13). What, according to Rofel, are the ways in which narratives of late socialist modernity are gendered? (Hint: think in terms of how narratives rest on gender imagery and construct gendered subjectivities or desires that vary according to generational cohorts.) Use your paper to consider the strengths and weaknesses of Rofel's analysis of socialist modernity in China.

For tips about crafting response papers, click here.

 

For more information, contact:  aleshkow@holycross.edu