Grassroots-Government Interactions in the Literary Field: The Dagong Poets' Community of the Pearl River Delta, China

The thesis analyses grassroots-government interactions in the formation and the development of the dagong 打工 poetry scene of Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. Dagong poetry is a wide and eclectic literary genre, written by Chinese rural migrant workers, often referred to as Chinese subalterns, who move to the cities to make a living, because of a lack of economic opportunities in the countryside. I use Bourdieu’s theory of the literary field to survey three main types of agents involved the dagong poetry dynamic and its discourse: (1) grassroots activists, (2) party-state-affiliated cultural policy institutions, and (3) intermediaries, meaning various individuals who advance the interactions of (1) and (2), and may be considered as belonging to both groups. By surveying textual sources, including literary journals, websites and public WeChat accounts, and through qualitative interviews with poets, critics, literary scholars and other agents involved in dagong poetry...Show moreThe thesis analyses grassroots-government interactions in the formation and the development of the dagong 打工 poetry scene of Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. Dagong poetry is a wide and eclectic literary genre, written by Chinese rural migrant workers, often referred to as Chinese subalterns, who move to the cities to make a living, because of a lack of economic opportunities in the countryside. I use Bourdieu’s theory of the literary field to survey three main types of agents involved the dagong poetry dynamic and its discourse: (1) grassroots activists, (2) party-state-affiliated cultural policy institutions, and (3) intermediaries, meaning various individuals who advance the interactions of (1) and (2), and may be considered as belonging to both groups. By surveying textual sources, including literary journals, websites and public WeChat accounts, and through qualitative interviews with poets, critics, literary scholars and other agents involved in dagong poetry discourse, I provide in depth case studies of some of most important dagong poetry-related persons and organizations in the Delta region dagong poets’ community. The thesis shows that party-state cultural policy institutions play a significant role in formation and development of a literary community that began as a grassroots movement. Their far reaching influence is present in many aspects and is mainly executed through negotiation with grassroots groups, in which a crucial role is played by top-down and bottom-up intermediaries that are very helpful for attracting financial, political and also discursive support for the dagong poets’ community, but also ensure that dagong poetry discourse remains controlled and in line with government’s cultural policy.Show less

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Grassroots-Government Interactions in the Literary Field: The Dagong Poets' Community of the Pearl River Delta, China