With the support of funding from the CCS, I conducted 25 oral history interviews during my summer fieldwork with former factory leaders, laid-off workers, and bureaucrats involved in the economic reforms in B City. Additionally, I collected local archives related to state propaganda during the institutional transition, particularly focusing on how the role of the working class shifted in the emerging market economy.
B City, rich in iron, steel, and coal resources, was once home to numerous stateowned factories. In the early years following China’s founding, it held a significant economic position and was even designated a municipality directly under the central government. However, economic reforms dismantled the traditional socialist factory system, leading to the layoffs of hundreds of thousands of workers.
The oral history interviews, which lasted between one to two and a half hours, explored key events during the institutional changes, the personal work histories of laid-off workers, and their perceptions of the state and the reforms. Through this fieldwork, I aim to understand how workers’ views of the state have evolved over time in response to these transformations.
- Zhehang Zhang
Department of Sociology