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International Handbook of Chinese Families
Chan Kwok-bun, editor
The globalization and mobility trends of recent years continue to add new layers of nuances to the already diverse human experience.Nowhere is this clearer than the Chinese diaspora in the Pacific Rim and North America, which witnesses a wide variety of social issues from the effects of migration on family stability, to elusive concepts of identity among people living in non-Chinese communities, to complex gender and generation politics issues that have also begun to affect life on the mainland.
The International Handbook of Chinese Families delves into these processes of social transformation in meticulous, far-reaching detail. Focusing on the family life cycle, parent-child relationships, family forms in transition including divorce and separation, migration, emerging research methodologies, and policy concerns,the Handbook highlights diverse populations, including mobile entrepreneurs, college students, fathers, immigrants and re-migrants, same-sex families, divorcees, and the aging. And since the coverage emphasizes families both on and away from the mainland, readers have uncommon access to immediate and long-developing issues, country-specific and worldwide patterns, and the conflict between longstanding tradition and rapid change.
A sampling of topics featured in the Handbook:
Gender preference for children among Chinese-Americans.Mainland Chinese immigrant families in Singapore.Empowered or impoverished? Effects of divorce on urban women in China and Canada.Contemporary Chinese fathers in Canada.Social networks and family relationships in return migration.Impact of the one-child policy on Chinese families.
This vast array of subjects makes the Handbook a rich trove of findings for researchers studying family development, Chinese family and immigrant experience, globalization, and related topics.
A landmark in Chinese family studies, the Handbook is unsurpassed in breadth and depth in its attempt to examine the intimate relations between social theory,research methodology and public policies. It sets the stage for how the Chinese family world-wide will be approached,studied, understood for change in a quickly globalized world.
About the author
Chan Kwok-bun is Chair Professor of Sociology, Hong Kong Baptist University. He was former President, Hong Kong Sociological Association; former Head, Department of Sociology, and former Director, David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University. Between 2005 and 2008, Professor Chan has published seven books, and since 2005 has been the Editor of Social Transformations in Chinese Societies (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers), the official journal of The Hong Kong Sociological Association. His current research interests are in families in Chinese societies, Chinese business networks and Chinese capitalism; Chinese ethnic identities; migration, transnationalism, cosmopolitanism, and diasporas.
Summary
Families are the cornerstone of Chinese society, whether in mainland China, in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Malaysia, or in the Chinese diaspora the world over.
Handbook of the Chinese Family
provides an overview of economics, politics, race, ethnicity, and culture within and external to the Chinese family as a social institution. While simultaneously evaluating its own methodological tools, this book will set current knowledge in the context of what has been previously studied as well as future research directions. It will examine inter-family relationships and politics as well as childrearing, education, and family economics to provide a rounded and in-depth view.
Additional text
From the book reviews:“The handbook has rich information about issues related to Chinese families living in diverse geographical areas around the world. The book is of interest to readers who are interested in Chinese culture, family policy, and family issues. The contents are accessible to both experienced researchers and general public who are interested in the Chinese culture. The book can be used as a reference for both graduate and undergraduate courses in Chinese studies and any related social science courses.” (Jing Jian Xiao, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Vol. 35, 2014)“Sociologist Chan (Hong Kong Baptist Univ.) brings together 41 interdisciplinary scholars to offer a comprehensive examination of Chinese families in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, Canada, and the US. … this is an important contribution to sociology of the family, and widely accessible to readers who want to learn more about Chinese families from different perspectives. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.” (M. C. Cheng, Choice, Vol. 50 (11), August, 2013)
Report
From the book reviews:
"The handbook has rich information about issues related to Chinese families living in diverse geographical areas around the world. The book is of interest to readers who are interested in Chinese culture, family policy, and family issues. The contents are accessible to both experienced researchers and general public who are interested in the Chinese culture. The book can be used as a reference for both graduate and undergraduate courses in Chinese studies and any related social science courses." (Jing Jian Xiao, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Vol. 35, 2014)
"Sociologist Chan (Hong Kong Baptist Univ.) brings together 41 interdisciplinary scholars to offer a comprehensive examination of Chinese families in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, Canada, and the US. ... this is an important contribution to sociology of the family, and widely accessible to readers who want to learn more about Chinese families from different perspectives. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries." (M. C. Cheng, Choice, Vol. 50 (11), August, 2013)
