Chinese Journal of Sociology

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An Ethnographic Interpretation of “McJobs” in Urban Shanghai:Insights from the Field

Author 1: Pan Tianshu, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University;
Author 2：Hong Haohan, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University.    

  1. Author 1: Pan Tianshu, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University; Author 2：Hong Haohan, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University. 
  • Online:2011-09-20 Published:2011-09-20
  • Contact: Pan Tianshu, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University. E-mail:fudan_anthropology@yahoo.com;
  • About author:Author 1: Pan Tianshu, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University) Email: fudan_anthropology@yahoo.com; Author 2：Hong Haohan, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University. 
  • Supported by:

    This study is funded by the Shanghai Philosophical and Social Sciences Research Grant（2009BSH004).

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Abstract:

Based on an ethnographic field study conducted at four McDonald’s chain restaurants in Shanghai’s Jingan and Huangpu Districts (2008-2010), this paper discusses Mcjob as a meaningladen term in the special discourse contexts during globalization and local transformation by closely examining the employees’ adaptive strategies to cope with and manage their daily work environment. This study has found that McJob in Shanghai is not a sign as a product of elite discourses but a real ecological cultural existence. Focused on the two structural forces that lead and shape the McJob World, namely, transnationalism and local transformation, the paper utilizes sociological imagination to examine and analyze the McJobs’ local cultural identity, value systems, and work strategies. Furthermore, it emphasizes the key roles of social stratification and multiple lifestyles in McJobs’ experiences.

 

Key words: McJobs , adaptive strategies ,   globalization ,   local transformation