Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2016 -

Sociologist Rocca (CERI Sciences Po, Paris; Tsinghua Univ., Beijing) concedes that writing a 145-page book on the sociology of modern China is an enormous, immodest task, yet he produces an unmatched macrocosm of contemporary China. He purposely limits the discussion of major institutions, demography, and major social issues and focuses on the social reality--stratification, social relations, and individual and group practices--of a "normal" society in transition. Issues China faces are common, and its evolution closely aligns it with that of other societies. China has experienced astonishing changes over the last three decades. Contradiction is part of the modernization and growth process; domestic demands inevitably lead to political conflicts. If people still seem perplexed by the Chinese enigma, it is due to their faulty methodology. Rocca criticizes the culturalist approach and rejects the conventional modernization theory that sees China from the outside. Thus, his views on Chinese corruption, stratification, protests, individualism, Internet users and impact, mobility, democratization, and nationalism, for example, are decidedly different and thought provoking. Six years of teaching at a leading Chinese university gives Rocca immense access to Chinese students, academics, general population, and publications. Multilingual sources; 19 tables and inserts add great clarity.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.

Anthropologist Zheng (SUNY Cortland) is an excellent ethnographer who has produced the first in-depth, thoughtful analysis of Chinese male homosexuality. The author combines Chinese and Western social science research with her own high quality investigation to provide the first substantial account of gay life in mainland China. A core finding is the way male homosexuals identify themselves to one another using a system of O's (insertee) and I's (inserter). She thoughtfully describes how the system manifests itself in a variety of social contexts as well as how individuals experience and justify performing one role instead of another. Zheng finds that heterosexual normality remains culturally powerful, so male homosexuals continue to strive to pass for straight and enter into "sham marriages" while continuing to live alternative private lives. Zheng aptly describes some of the negative consequences of being caught between two identities.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.