Dear All,

Apologies for cross-posting. The message below may be of interest to you and your students:

All the Best,

Andrea


Are you interested in Chinese labour? Join us for a week of intensive classes and discussions on an ancient island in the lagoon of Venice this July for the inaugural Made in China Summer School. The event—which is free of charge—will bring together prominent scholars from all over the world to engage in dialogue with students, trade unionists, and NGO activists. To apply, go to http://www.chinoiresie.info/summer-school. We look forward to seeing you in Venice!
 
Labour and Rights in an Era of Global Precarity: Views from China
 
Made in China Summer School 2017 – Venice, 17–21 July

In the Made in China Yearbook 2016: Disturbances in Heaven—available as a free download from this link—we have outlined the main developments that took place in the fields of labour and civil society in China over the past year. The situation is dire. Although the Chinese government has never been reluctant to repress dissent, in 2016 we have witnessed an authoritarian drift that only a few years ago would have been unthinkable. Not only have labour activists fallen victim to regular intimidation from the party-state, but new laws and regulations have also been passed in order to cut off labour and rights NGOs from any international sources of funding. This happened in concomitance with an economic slowdown that pushed local governments in China to freeze minimum wages and lower the rate of social security contributions shouldered by companies in order to prevent capital flight. Chinese workers have been restless, as they see their very livelihoods threatened by these new developments, but in absence of any meaningful representation they have been largely unable to resist these trends.
In such difficult times, it is more important than ever to take a closer look at the challenges that Chinese workers and citizens are facing today. At the same time, it is also important to give credit to those in positions of authority who are currently going to great lengths to address the grievances and call for justice of many ordinary Chinese citizens. Such understanding is a necessary precondition to build those bridges of international solidarity and mutual comprehension so important in the period of global turmoil that we all now face, as the entire world seems to be descending into provincialism, xenophobia, and worse.
These are the goals of the inaugural Made in China Summer School ‘Labour and Rights in an Era of Global Precarity: Views from China’, that will be held on the Island of San Servolo, Venice, from 17 to 21 July 2017. This event will bring together prominent scholars from all over the world for a series of presentations and discussions with students, trade unionists, and NGO activists. The Summer School will be structured in two parts. The first three days will consist of masterclasses given by prominent scholars on topics related to contemporary Chinese politics and society, including the latest developments in labour rights, political discourse, land, trade unions, and labour protests in China. The last two days will be structured as an interactive workshop in which the speakers will present and discuss specific case studies collected during their fieldwork. The first day of the workshop will be dedicated to presentations related to ‘precarity’ in the Chinese context, the second to presentations on various aspects of ‘Chinese labour in a global perspective’, with case studies from Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam, and other countries.

Speakers

A detailed programme of the classes and workshop will be published shortly. Here follows a list of the Summer School speakers and a brief description of the topics they will cover in their classes.
STEFAN BREHM - LUND UNIVERSITY
ANITA CHAN - AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
CHEN FENG - HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
FRANCESCA COIN - CA' FOSCARI UNIVERSITY OF VENICE
IVAN FRANCESCHINI - CA’ FOSCARI UNIVERSITY AND AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
NICHOLAS LOUBERE - LUND UNIVERSITY
FABIO PEROCCO - CA' FOSCARI UNIVERSITY OF VENICE
ANDREA ENRICO PIA - LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
DOROTHY SOLINGER - UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE
CHRISTIAN SORACE - AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
MARINA SVENSSON - LUND UNIVERSITY
LUIGI TOMBA - UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
JONATHAN UNGER - AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Venue

The summer school will be held at Venice International University on the ancient Island of San Servolo, ten minutes by boat from Saint Mark Square in central Venice. The island is an oasis in a unique urban setting, where students will be able to interact with the speakers in a peaceful park spread across twelve scenic acres with a panoramic view of Venice. San Servolo is composed of a large architectural complex and a lovely park. Its first settlement dates back to the 17th century, when a group of Benedictine monks took refuge on the narrow and marshy island. In 1647, the complex was given to a group of Benedictine, Dominican, and Franciscan nuns from the island of Candia (modern-day Crete). In contemporary times, the Province of Venezia has retained ownership of the island, and in the 1990s, architectural recovery programme was initiated to protect and promote its natural scenery and heritage.


Fees and Scholarships

The summer school will be provided entirely for free, but participants will have to pay for their own food and accommodation. Four scholarships of 500 euros each will be awarded to partially cover accommodation expenses on the Island of San Servolo. Only students currently enrolled in a formal academic programme are eligible to apply for the scholarships.
Food and Accommodation
Participants will have to pay for their own food and accommodation, but we are able to assist participants to arrange accommodation on the Island of San Servolo for the duration of the Summer School (ideally, check-in should be on 16 July and check-out on 22 July). The price will be 95 euros per night in single room or 150 euros per night in double room (if available). Upon confirmation, participants will be required to pay half the total sum as a non-refundable partial payment.
A buffet breakfast will be served from 7:30 to 10 am at the San Servolo Restaurant at a cost of 7 euros per person, with self-service lunch (12:30 to 2:30 pm) and dinner (7 to 9:30 pm) for 11 euros.
How to Apply
Up to 30 participants will be admitted to the Summer School. Applications can be submitted until 31 March through this online form. If you have further inquiries, please contact us at [log in to unmask] We will inform applicants whether or not they have been admitted by early April. Some applicants may be called for an interview before a final decision on their application is made.
Sponsors
The Summer School is sponsored by the Australian Centre on China in the World, Australian National University, with additional funding from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Lund University, University of Sydney, and Venice International University. We also acknowledge the financial assistance of the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 654852.
 
 

Dr Andrea E Pia | 安子
Fellow in the Anthropology of China | Department of Anthropology

London School of Economics
+44(0)20 7955 7614
https://lse.academia.edu/AndreaPia
http://www.lse.ac.uk/anthropology/people/Andrea-Pia.aspx
http://www.chinoiresie.info/

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