Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies, The University of Melbourne
5.30-7.00pm Tuesday 6 March, 2018
Theatre 1, Old Geology (Building 155), University of Melbourne, Parkville
Associate Professor Kinman Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Admission is free, but places are limited so registration is essential
A/Prof Chan will discuss the generational differences among activists in Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement, exploring how varying notions of democracy, civil disobedience and national identity generated enormous tensions within the movement. He argues that these generational differences are rooted in part in broader social changes, as youngsters rely on new media to make sense of the world while the older generation still consumes traditional mass media. Hong Kong youth’s experience of living under a flexible production regime and a new form of capitalism that has destroyed trust, loyalty and clear career paths is also a major source of uneasiness that the older generation cannot fully comprehend. He will conclude the talk by sharing some findings of a study on how young Umbrella Movement participants tackle pressure from their families, where intergenerational divisions often are felt most deeply.
A/Prof Kinman Chan received his PhD from Yale University and is currently Associate Professor of Sociology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is former director of Universities Service Centre for China Studies and Centre for Civil Society Studies in the same university. He serves in the editorial boards of Journal of Civil Society (US), China NonProfit Review (Beijing) and Third Sector Review (Taiwan). He is the author/coauthor/editor of eight Chinese books such as Towards Civil Society and The Difficult Transition: Modernization and the Chinese Society (with Zhong Hua). Chan is deeply involved in democracy movement in Hong Kong and is a co-founder of Occupy Central with Love and Peace/Umbrella Movement.