Time Inheritors - How Time Inequalities Shape Higher Education Mobility in China

Reveals the role of time in reproducing inequalities as students navigate rural-to-urban, cross-border, and transnational higher education.
Can a student inherit time? What difference does time make to their educational journeys and outcomes? The Time Inheritors draws on nearly a decade of field research with more than one hundred youth in China to argue that intergenerational transfers of privilege or deprivation are manifested in and through time. Comparing experiences of rural-to-urban, cross-border, and transnational education, Cora Lingling Xu shows how inequalities in time inheritance help drive deeply unequal mobility. With its unique focus on time, nuanced comparative analysis, and sensitive ethnographic engagement, The Time Inheritors opens new avenues for understanding the social mechanisms shaping the future of China and the world.

About the author

Cora Lingling Xu is Associate Professor in Sociology of Education at Durham University, United Kingdom.

Product details

• Authors: Cora Lingling Xu
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 02.10.2025
• EAN: 9798855801910
• ISBN: 9798855801910
• No. of pages: 256
• Series: SUNY series, Education in Global Perspectives
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Education > Education system; Social sciences, law, business > Ethnology > Ethnology; China, Ethnic Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Human Geography, EDUCATION / Philosophy, Theory & Social Aspects, Organization & management of education, Philosophy & theory of education, Philosophy and theory of education, Higher & further education, tertiary education, Human Geography, Higher education, tertiary education, Educational systems and structures, EDUCATION / Schools / Levels / Higher, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / Asian Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / General, Ethnic studies / Ethnicity