Lingling Mao
lm505@york.ac.uk
With a background of journalism study and work experience, I am now focusing my interest in women's study. My project will explore the 1960s generation of Chinese women, who have lived through more historical upheavals than any other generation in Chinese modern history. Born during the early years of the Cultural Revolution, this biological generation coincided with a political generation. For China, 'political time' is of crucial importance to the understanding of state, politics and everyday life, thus this generation of women, on whom political changes have had a major impact, offer important insights into contemporary Chinese life.
There is no prior systematic research on the 1960s generation. My research will combine life narratives with theoretical analysis. I will employ a qualitative methodology: reflexive ethnography, modeled by Charlotte Davies. Beginning from a set of research questions on gendering generational change, I will adopt and adapt theoretical explanations (modernization theory, Marxism, feminism and globalisation theory) as a part of the ongoing interplay between theorizing and collecting data.