Podcasts

Episode 4

Ben Mulvey: International student mobility between Africa and China

In this episode, Ben discusses his latest research on international student mobility between Africa and China. This is based on his two latest articles published in Higher Education Policy and Higher Education. Ben discusses his motivation for conducting research in this area, based on his previous experiences of studying and working in various parts of China. He also reveals some tips for publishing as a PhD candidate and reflects on the ‘publish or perish’ cultural context in Hong Kong. Ben also shares the challenges and strategies of conducting fieldwork under COVID-19. He looks forward to completing his PhD project. You can access Ben’s articles here and here. Read a summary of Ben’s interview here.

Episode 5

Jinting Wu–Rural ethnic and disability education in China

In this episode, Jinting revealed her journey to conducting and writing her award-winning PhD research and monograph ‘Fabricating an Educational Miracle‘ (SUNY Press) as well as her recent article ‘From Researcher to Human Being: Fieldwork as Moral Laboratories‘ and chapter ‘Erasure and Renewal in (Post)socialist China: My Mother’s Long Journey‘. Jinting shared fascinating anecdotes during her fieldwork in China’s Southwestern Guizhou Province. She also provided helpful tips on how the publication process of turning a PhD thesis into a monograph. To read a summary of this episode, click here. To read introductions to Jinting’s articles, click here, and here.

Episode 6

Cross-boundary Schooling by Professor Johanna Waters and Dr Maggi Leung

In Episode 6, Prof Johanna Waters and Dr Maggi Leung shared their latest research findings based on their recent articles published in Population, Space and Place and in Geography. Jo and Maggi discussed their motivations for researching everyday cross-border mobilities of younger children across the Shenzhen-Hong Kong border, their main findings about the flows and rhythms and familial dynamics within these cross-boundary school children’s daily routines and in their families. They animated an interview with a former cross-boundary schooling student which shaped the conception of their Population, Space and Place article. They also disclosed the ‘secrets’ to their admirable long-term collaborations: seeing eye to eye with and having trust in each other. Jo and Maggi are working on a few more articles based on this piece of research and they welcome suggestions about how to develop this project further. Jo can be contacted via E-mail: johanna.waters@ucl.ac.uk & Twitter: @johannalwaters and Maggi can be contacted via Email: w.h.m.leung@uu.nl. 

Episode 7

Meritocracy and the Gaokao in China by Dr Zachary Howlett

In Episode 7, Dr Zachary Howlett (Yale-NUS College) shared his latest research published in his recent Cornell University Press book Meritocracy and Its Discontents: Anxiety and the National College Entrance Exam in China. He introduces main findings of his book, and shared intriguing anecdotes about his two-year-long fieldwork in three different high schools in Fujian Province. He also disclosed valuable tips for turning a PhD thesis into a book, such as organising book workshops to gain feedback from experts in the field and strengthen the book manuscript before sending it out for peer review. Zach also provided a sneak preview into his new research project the marriage patterns of educated rural-to-urban migrant women. Buy Zach’s book by applying the following promotion code to save 30%. Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, & Papua New Guinea–Use code CSV21MID at combinedacademic.co.uk; United States–Use code 09FLYER at cornellpress.cornell.edu or call 800 848 6224; Canada–Email utpbooks@utpress.utoronto.ca or call 1-800-565-9523.

Episode 8

The Children of China’s Great Migration: Interview with Prof Rachel Murphy (Oxford University)

In Episode 8, Professor Rachel Murphy (Oxford University) about her latest book (Cambridge University Press) ‘The Children of China’s Great Migration‘. Rachel shared her motivation for conducting this longitudinal research on left-behind children in rural China, the key findings of her book, and shared fascinating anecdotes when she conducted her fieldwork. Rachel also spoke about how she proposed her book to Cambridge University Press, and provided tips on applying for research funding as well as advice on fostering and sustaining long-term research collaborations. Rachel briefly discussed her future research projects based on this book. You can watch this interview and read an introduction to Rachel’s book. 

Episode 9

International School Teachers’ Lived Experiences: Interview with Dr Adam Poole

In Episode 9, the NRCEM spoke with Dr Adam Poole, Director of Research in the Institute of Impact Studies in Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), China. Adam introduced his newly published book: ‘International Teachers’ Lived Experiences‘ with Palgrave Macmillan. Adam also shared anecdotes during his fieldwork and his tips for publishing both (many) peer-reviewed journal articles and a monograph based on his doctoral work. He provided a sneak preview into his newer research projects.  Watch a lecture by Adam on the same topic and read an introduction to one of his articles. Watch the video of this interview.

Episode 10

Fragile Elite: The Dilemmas of China’s Top University Students_Interview with Dr Susanne Bregnbæk

In this episode, the NRCEM (co-hosts Dr Cora Xu and Miss Zhiyun Lisa Bian) spoke with Dr Susanne Bregnbæk about her impactful book: Fragile Elite: The Dilemmas of China’s Top University Students’ published by Stanford University Press. Susanne introduced her destined ‘fate’ to research China and how she chanced upon this important research topic when she was in China. She also shared deeply emotional anecdotes during her fieldwork and the incredible impacts of her book on contemporary Chinese young people which she discovered by chance.

Episode 11

Educational Hopes and Ambitions of Left-Behind Children in Rural China_Interview with Dr Yang HONG

In this episode, the NRCEM interviewed Dr Yang HONG (Shaanxi Normal University, China) about her latest book on The Educational Hopes and Ambitions of Left-Behind Children in Rural China (2021, Routledge). Yang shares important research insights into this book’s main findings and intriguing anecdotes during her fieldwork, as well as useful advice about responding to reviewer comments during the book review process.  You can find the introduction to this book here. Watch this interview on YouTube here. 

Episode 12

Rural-urban migration and the argo-technological change in China_Interview with Dr Lena Kaufmann

In this episode, the NRCEM interviewed Dr Lena Kaufmann (University of Zurich, Switzerland) about her latest book on Rural-Urban Migration and Agro-Technological Change in Post-Reform China (2021, Amsterdam University Press). Lena shares important research insights into this book’s main findings and intriguing anecdotes during her fieldwork, as well as useful advice about turning a PhD thesis into a research monograph. Download this open access book here. Read an introduction to this book here. Watch this interview on YouTube here.

Episode 16

Class consciousness construction of rural migrant children in China_Interview with Dr Jiaxin Chen

In this episode, the NRCEM (Miss Tong Meng) interviewed Dr Jiaxin Chen (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) about her latest book: Class consciousness construction of rural migrant children in China (2022, Routledge). Jiaxin shares important research insights into this book’s main findings and intriguing anecdotes about working with primary school children during her fieldwork. She also provides useful advice about using Paulo Freire’s theory in the Chinese context and the book publication process. Read an introduction to Jiaxin’s book here. You can also access Jiaxin’s journal articles here and here. 

Episode 17

The urbanization of people_Interview with Dr Eli Friedman on migrant schooling in Beijing

In this episode, The NRCEM (Dr Cora Xu) spoke with Dr Eli Friedman (Cornell University, US) about his new book ‘The Urbanization of People‘ (Columbia University Press). Eli discussed his incidental journey into researching educational inequalities and urbanization issues in China as a labour scholar. He explained what he meant by the ‘just in time’ urbanisation and what he argued to the an ‘inverse welfare state’ approach towards educational resource allocation in China’s mega cities such as Beijing. He also commented on how the most recent relaxation of the birth control policy may, to a limited extent, reduce the educational immobility limbos of some of the rural-to-urban migrant children. Eli shared his observations about benefits of studying in Beijing for the migrant children and potential (but small-scale) collective resistance among the rural migrant children, their families and schools. Eli in addition discussed the difficult work conditions and experiences of teachers in these migrant schools. Last but not the least, Eli disclosed some invaluable insights into how he went about writing and proposing his book to Columbia University Press and his next steps of research. We wish Eli all the best in his future research endeavours! Watch the interview here.