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The World Guangzhou: Africans and Other Foreigners South China's Global Marketplace
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Barnes and Noble
The World Guangzhou: Africans and Other Foreigners South China's Global Marketplace
Current price: $99.00
Barnes and Noble
The World Guangzhou: Africans and Other Foreigners South China's Global Marketplace
Current price: $99.00
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Size: Hardcover
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Only decades ago, the population of Guangzhou was almost wholly Chinese. Today, it is a truly global city, a place where people from around the world go to make new lives, find themselves, or further their careers. A large number of these migrants are small-scale traders from Africa who deal in Chinese goodsoften knockoffs or copies of high-end branded itemsto send back to their home countries. In
, Gordon Mathews explores the question of how the city became a center of “low-end globalization” and shows what we can learn from that experience about similar transformations elsewhere in the world. Through detailed ethnographic portraits, Mathews reveals a world of globalization based on informality, reputation, and trust rather than on formal contracts. How, he asks, can such informal relationships emerge between two groupsChinese and sub-Saharan Africansthat don't share a common language, culture, or religion? And what happens when Africans move beyond their status as temporary residents and begin to put down roots and establish families? Full of unforgettable characters,
presents a compelling account of globalization at ground level and offers a look into the future of urban life as transnational connections continue to remake cities around the world.