“Reinventing Labor: Kindergartens in Rural China, 1958-1983” by Jing Zhai
Join us to learn more about Postdoctoral Fellow, Jing Zhai's work.
The event will take place in a hybrid format, both in-person and virtual:
- If attending in person: RSVP to cmeador@austin.utexas.edu. A light lunch will be provided.
- If attending virtually: Please register in advance to attend via Zoom.
Fore more information, please visit the Liberal Arts event page - https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/events/opa-workshop-reinventing-labor-kindergartens-in-rural-china-1958-1983-by-jing-zhai-the-university-of-texas-at-austin
Background:
Based on grassroots sources including county archives and interviews, this research is a microhistory depicting the everydayness in kindergartens and the life course of children, parents, and kindergarten teachers. It discloses that with the setting up of rural kindergartens, the socialization of childcare tasks gained attention from the party-state. Kindergarten teachers’ embrace of preschool education and the transfer of childrearing tasks to these teachers transformed childrearing from a mostly manual labor to a mostly mental one. The same process changed the value of childcaring from invisible labor free of charge to a transactional service. Kindergartens generated a hierarchy around the differences between manual and mental labor, creating unequal statuses among rural women, especially between mothers and teachers. This research argues these transformations joined the formation of a communal micro power system and shifted the boundaries between the state and families.