On Tuesday 17 October the first presentation within the open lecture series Linie 4 took place at VHS Bielefeld. Dr. Marius Meinhof presented his latest research on consumption and national modernization in China.

In his lecture, the sociologist focused on the everyday life and the shopping habits of citizens of Chinese cities like Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Nanjing. In addition to very modern shopping areas one can also find streets with mostly illegal but tolerated markets.

Hightech meets market places

China's mega-cities are full of futuristic and highly diverse consumer cultures. These consumer cultures are related to a project of national modernization by the state. The chinese government tries to create a pluralized consuming middle class. Enchanted by this project of modernization, many Chinese tend to overlook how modern and diverse their country already is - and that this modernity and diversity often can be found at places believed to be "backwards".

In addition to the presentation there was also much time for questions and discussions by and with the audiance.

On 7 November the lecture series will be continued with a talk by the historian Theresa Hornischer. The title of the second presentation will be: Women against their fatherland France (1918-1939).

For further information and the schedule please see:

www.uni-bielefeld.de/bghs/Public_Science/Linie_4/

UNI.AKTUELL
hertz 87,9: Podcast »ImPuls« zur Vortragsreihe Linie 4
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www.vhs-bielefeld.de

Text: Theresa Hornischer