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ID: 154162

Developmental" therapy for a "modernised" society: the sociopolitical meanings of psychology in urban China / Hizi, Gil

Hizi, Gil	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

Psychological counselling has experienced a substantial surge in China over the last two decades. Based on an ethnographic study of psychological counselling centres in the city of Jinan, the author explores how social discourses of psychology extend to the level of practice, and how this process is facilitated by recent political and economic changes. As psychological services not only promote, but are also predicated on a new mode of self-responsible citizenship, psychological centres are inclined to address problems of groups who embody high "potential" and who are seen to carry an important role in the modernisation of Chinese society.

Key Words

Developmental Therapy ; Modernised Society ; Sociopolitical Meanings ; Psychology in Urban China

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ID: 182947

Tragic Stability and Elusive Selfhood: On the Drive for Self-Development in Contemporary China / Hizi, Gil

Hizi, Gil	Journal Article
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The requirement for “self-development” through the ceaseless acquisition of skills and credentials has long been central for young adults in China. However, due to the multiple and unpredictable demands of social institutions, many social actors also prime the cultivation of a self that does not succumb to immediate occupational and material impositions. In this article, I describe how young adults in a second-tier city pursue a model of personhood that brings together socio-economic competence and singular individuality. These individuals aspire to expand their range of experiences and their spatial mobility, thereby reifying an image of a self that transcends narrow social roles and networks. Drawing on Jean-Paul Sartre's dualistic philosophy, I analyse young adults’ attempts to realise individualised selves by destabilising their ontological ground. I argue that this phenomenon is magnified in China through widespread notions of a “moral crisis” and its supposable suppression of social actors’ agency.

Key Words

Contemporary China ; Self-Cultivation ; Self-Improvement ; Jean-Paul Sartre

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