Walking Between Slums and Skyscrapers

Walking Between Slums and Skyscrapers PDF Author: Tsung-Yi Michelle Huang
Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
ISBN: 9622096360
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description
The book is concerned with the effects of globalization on living space (i.e. the space of everyday life), focusing specifically on East Asian metropolises, such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Shanghai. Globalization has given rise to accessible catch-phrases such as the "global village" and "this is a small world." In each part of the book the author juxtaposes a "social" account of the city's urban space as it has been reshaped by the process of globalization with a "private" account of the urban landscape as experienced by its walkers (as represented in the films of Wong Kar-wai and Shinya Tsukamoto and the novels of Wang Anyi). Rather than rest here, the author wishes to show that for many of the inhabitants of the new global city, the "shrinking world" phenomenon is deeply literal: the "lived" space of everyday life is shrinking to make room for rezoning, construction of new infrastructures, space modification — all in the name of urban development.

Walking Between Slums and Skyscrapers

Walking Between Slums and Skyscrapers PDF Author: Tsung-Yi Michelle Huang
Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
ISBN: 9622096360
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description
The book is concerned with the effects of globalization on living space (i.e. the space of everyday life), focusing specifically on East Asian metropolises, such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Shanghai. Globalization has given rise to accessible catch-phrases such as the "global village" and "this is a small world." In each part of the book the author juxtaposes a "social" account of the city's urban space as it has been reshaped by the process of globalization with a "private" account of the urban landscape as experienced by its walkers (as represented in the films of Wong Kar-wai and Shinya Tsukamoto and the novels of Wang Anyi). Rather than rest here, the author wishes to show that for many of the inhabitants of the new global city, the "shrinking world" phenomenon is deeply literal: the "lived" space of everyday life is shrinking to make room for rezoning, construction of new infrastructures, space modification — all in the name of urban development.

The New Middle Classes

The New Middle Classes PDF Author: Hellmuth Lange
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 140209938X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
With respect to the developing and threshold economies, it is no longer the poor who are the only focus of media attention. Today, the new middle classes are about to take centre stage, too. With their lifestyles and attitudes, the new middle classes are considered to be both the products as well as the promoters of globalization. They are a highly heterogeneousgroup in socio-economicterms as well as in habits 1 and preferences, including their societal role as consumers and citizens. The ?rst wave of scholarly and political attention can be traced back to the mid-nineties. The focal point was surprise and unease about indubitable symptoms of consumerism which, until then had been seen as a characteristic of the richest western societies. However, since the nineties, consumerism has run rampant in - velopingcountriestoo.Thishasparticularlybeennotedwithrespecttotheemerging middle classes in South East Asia. The “will to consume seemed inexhaustible, and appetites insatiable. This rage to consume [...] was both celebrated and feared by political leadersand other social/moralgatekeepers,who beganto condemnthe p- cess as ‘Westernization’ and even ‘westoxi?cation”’ (Chua 2000: xii). Ever since, the debate about the lifestyles of the new middle classes and their role in society has gained momentum.

Aspects of Urbanization in China

Aspects of Urbanization in China PDF Author: Gregory Bracken
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
ISBN: 9089643982
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
China's opkomst als wereldmacht is een van de ingrijpendste gebeurtenissen van deze tijd. Honderden miljoenen mensen zijn de armoede ontvlucht dankzij de snelle industrialisatie van het land. De wonderbaarlijke economische groei van China heeft zijn nadelen, iets wat vaak het meest pijnlijk duidelijk wordt in de steden. Deze studie is geschreven door wetenschappers uit verschillende disciplines, waaronder architectuur, stedenbouw, sociale wetenschappen, aardrijkskunde en antrolpologie. Een dee van de auteurs behandelt de mondiale ambities van de steden, terwijl andere hun culturele en architecturale uitingen onderzoeken.

Spaces for Consumption

Spaces for Consumption PDF Author: Steven Miles
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1412946662
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
In Spaces for Consumption Steven Miles develops a penetrating critique of a key shift characterising the contemporary city. Theoretically informed, the other strength of the volume lies in the wealth of examples that are drawn upon to show how cities are becoming spaces for consumption, which has itself rapidly become a global phenomenon." - Ronan Paddison, University of Glasgow "This is a great book. Powerfully written and lucid, it provides a thorough introduction to concepts of consumption as they relate to the spaces of cities. The spaces themselves - the airports, the shopping malls, the museums and cultural quarters - are analysed in marvellous detail, and with a keen sense of historical precedent. And, refreshingly, Miles doesn't simply dismiss cultures of consumption out of hand, but shows how as consumers we are complicit in, and help define those cultures. His book makes a major contribution to our understanding of contemporary cities, but is accessible enough to appeal to any reader with an interest in this important area." - Richard Williams, Edinburgh University Spaces for Consumption offers an in-depth and sophisticated analysis of the processes that underpin the commodification of the city and explains the physical manifestation of consumerism as a way of life. Engaging directly with the social, economic and cultural processes that have resulted in our cities being defined through consumption this vibrant book clearly demonstrates the ways in which consumption has come to play a key role in the re-invention of the post-industrial city The book provides a critical understanding of how consumption redefines the consumers' relationship to place using empirical examples and case studies to bring the issues to life. It discusses many of the key spaces and arenas in which this redefinition occurs including: shopping themed space mega-events architecture Developing the notion of 'contrived communality' Steven Miles outlines the ways in which consumption, alongside the emergence of an increasingly individualized society, constructs a new kind of relationship with the public realm. Clear, sophisticated and dynamic this book will be essential reading for students and researchers alike in sociology, human geography, architecture, planning, marketing, leisure and tourism, cultural studies and urban studies.

The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Cinemas

The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Cinemas PDF Author: Carlos Rojas
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199988447
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 730

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Book Description
What does it mean for a cinematic work to be "Chinese"? Does it refer specifically to a work's subject, or does it also reflect considerations of language, ethnicity, nationality, ideology, or political orientation? Such questions make any single approach to a vast field like "Chinese cinema" difficult at best. Accordingly, The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Cinemas situates the term more broadly among various different phases, genres, and distinct national configurations, while taking care to address the consequences of grouping together so many disparate histories under a single banner. Offering both a platform for cross-disciplinary dialogue and a mapping of Chinese cinema as an expanded field, this Handbook presents thirty-three essays by leading researchers and scholars intent on yielding new insights and new analyses using three different methodologies. Chapters in Part I investigate the historical periodizations of the field through changing notions of national and political identity -- all the way from the industry's beginnings in the 1920s up to its current forms in contemporary Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the global diaspora. Chapters in Part II feature studies centered on the field's taxonomical formalities, including such topics as the role of the Chinese opera in technological innovation, the political logic of the "Maoist film," and the psychoanalytic formula of the kung fu action film. Finally, in Part III, focus is given to the structural elements that comprise a work's production, distribution, and reception to reveal the broader cinematic apparatuses within which these works are positioned. Taken together, the multipronged approach supports a wider platform beyond the geopolitical and linguistic limitations in existing scholarship. Expertly edited to illustrate a representative set of up to date topics and approaches, The Oxford Handbook of Chinese Cinemas provides a vital addition to a burgeoning field still in its formative stages.

Islam in Hong Kong

Islam in Hong Kong PDF Author: Paul O'Connor
Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
ISBN: 9888139576
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
More than a quarter of a million Muslims live and work in Hong Kong. Among them are descendants of families who have been in the city for generations, recent immigrants from around the world, and growing numbers of migrant workers. Islam in Hong Kong explores the lives of Muslims as ethnic and religious minorities in this unique post-colonial Chinese city. Drawing on interviews with Muslims of different origins, O’Connor builds a detailed picture of daily life through topical chapters on language, space, religious education, daily prayers, maintaining a halal diet in a Chinese environment, racism, and other subjects. Although the picture that emerges is complex and ambiguous, one striking conclusion is that Muslims in Hong Kong generally find acceptance as a community and do not consider themselves to be victimised because of their religion.

Millionaire Migrants

Millionaire Migrants PDF Author: David Ley
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444399535
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 377

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Book Description
Based on extensive interviewing and access to a wide range of databases, this is an examination of the migration career of wealthy migrants who left East Asia and relocated to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, in the 1980s and 1990s. An interdisciplinary project based on over 15 years of research in Vancouver, Toronto, and Hong Kong, with additional comparative visits and consultations in Sydney, Beijing, and Singapore Traces the histories of the migrants families over a 25 year period Offers a critical view of the spatial presuppositions of neo-liberal globalization, and an insertion of geography into transnational theory

Technovisuality

Technovisuality PDF Author: Helen Grace
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857739190
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
How should we regard the contemporary proliferation of images? Today, visual information is available as projected, printed and on-screen imagery, in the forms of video games, scientific data, virtual environments and architectural renderings. Fearful and anti-visualist responses to this phenomenon abound. Spread by digital technologies, images are thought to threaten the word and privilege surface value over content. Yet as they multiply, images face unprecedented competition for attention. This book explores the opportunities that can arise from the ubiquity of visual stimuli. It reveals that 'technovisuality' - the fusion of digital technology with the visual - can work 'wonders'; not so much dazzling audiences with special effects as reviving our enchantment with popular culture. Introducing a new term for an entirely new field of academic study, this book reveals the centrality of 'technovisuality' in 21st century life.

East Asian Cinemas

East Asian Cinemas PDF Author: V. Lee
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230307183
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
This book is an original volume of essays that sheds new and critical light on current and emerging filmmaking trends and practices in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. A timely and important contribution to existing scholarship in the field.

Paradigm City

Paradigm City PDF Author: Janet Ng
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 0791476650
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
Materially grounded analysis of contemporary film, literature, and music in Hong Kong that resists the superficial stereotypes of the “global city.” Hong Kong is often cast in the role of the paradigmatic “global city,” epitomizing postmodernism and globalization, and representing a vision of a cosmopolitan global and capitalist future. In Paradigm City, Janet Ng takes us past the obsession with 1997—the year of Hong Kong’s return to China—to focus on the complex uses and meanings of urban space in Hong Kong in the period following that transfer. She demonstrates how the design and ordering of the city’s space and the practices it supports inculcates a particular civic aesthetic among Hong Kong’s population that corresponds to capitalist as well as nationalist ideologies. Ng’s insightful connections between contemporary film, literature, music and other media and the actual spaces of the city—such as parks, shopping malls, and domestic spaces—provide a rich and nuanced picture of Hong Kong today. “ Paradigm City is pleasant reading and conveys quite comprehensively the complex socio-political dynamics of a city that has yet to find a clear identity in the midst of a seemingly never-ending transition.” — China Journal “ covers much in a quite interesting way.” — CHOICE