Social Engineering and the Social Sciences in China, 1919-1949

by Yung-chen Chiang

Overview

Yung-chen Chiang tells the story of the origins, visions, and achievements of the social sciences in China during the first half of the twentieth century. He focuses on the efforts of social scientists at three institutions to relate their disciplines to the needs of Chinese society. As all three groups received funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, their stories offer a window onto Sino-American interactions, revealing how the social sciences became a lingua franca of the cultural frontier. This study advances our understanding of the transfer, indigenization, and international patronage of social science disciplines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521027243
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/22/2006
Series:	Cambridge Modern China Series
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.79(d)

Table of Contents

Ackowledgments; Notes on names and Romanization; 1. Introduction; 2. The Yanjing sociology department: the social service phase, 1919–25; 3. The Yanjing Sociology Department: from social service to social engineering, 1925–45; 4. The Nankai Institute of Economics: the germinating stage, 1927–31; 5. The Nankai Institute of Economics: academic entrepreneurship and social engineering, 1931–47; 6. Marxism, revolution and the study of Chinese society; 7. Genesis of a Marxist social science enterprise in the early 1930s; 8. The social sciences, agrarian China and the advocacy of revolution; 9. The Rockefeller foundation and Chinese academic enterprise; 10. Conclusion: the legacy; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...three well-done case studies...filled with telling detail." American Historical Review

"Social Sciences and Social Engineering in China is a valuable addition to the existing literature on the development of modern academic disciplines in China..." The China Quarterly

"Chiang provides a convincing account of the conflicting agendas of advocates of social service versus those who promoted projects they hoped would change society through "social engineering." He is equally acute in analyzing the gap between Marxist and non-Marxist assumptions. This thoroughly researched book will interest students of American foundations as well as students of modern China." Choice

"...a work whose theses are supported by meticulous archival research, and which at the same time enables the institutions and protagonists it describes to come to life before the eyes of the reader." The International History Review

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