Roses Are Redder…

The originally Western day for lovers is catching on among enamoured white collars in China. THEY sit there staring into the depths of one another's souls. Pulses quicken as the waiter slips the meticulously prepared Valentine's special onto the candle-lit table. Fingers interlock, and the rapt lovers are unable to tell whether the dizziness is caused by the romance, or the revolving restaurant in which they're dining. Their gaze breaks for a peek outside the window, down upon the shimmering city lights. Only the perpetual pollution kissing the outside of the windowpane betrays that they sit in west Beijing's CCTV tower, and not in Paris... Now that might read like something out of a Mills and Boon novel (or their Chinese counterpart, Chiung Yao), but scenes like that are everywhere in China's wealthier cities on February 14. Along with Christmas and Halloween, Valentine's Day is jostling to become the country's most celebrated Western festival. It's having some success, too.     

Latin America as a White Settler Society

Latin America’s nineteenth century history of Europeanisation, immigration and extermination suggests that the continent should fit neatly into the category of ‘settler colonialism’, a notion usually employed to describe the white settler colonies of European empires other than those of Spain and Portugal. While the last years of empire and the early days of the republics saw efforts to include the indigenous population as citizens, the racist white elites in the century after independence sought to import European migrants to prevent the non‐white population from participating in power. The desired ‘whitening’ of the population was rarely successful, but the weight of white immigration helped create a twentieth century society that ignored the indigenous peoples – until the popular explosions of recent years.     

‘Left Pessimists’ in ‘Rose Coloured Glasses’? Reflections on the Political Economy of Socio-Legal Studies and (Legal) Academic Well-Being

This article reflects on the significance of the Journal of Law and Society and critical socio-legal work in the context of changes in the political economy of universities and socio-legal studies. It interweaves an analysis of this shifting political economy with consideration of another topic, namely, academic well-being and mental health, especially in this moment, to demonstrate the continuing pertinence and importance of the left critique of universities. Well-being has become part of a far broader set of counter-narratives to neoliberalism evident in attempts to reposition it as a ‘force of change’, to develop new ways of working that might challenge traditional work cultures and organizational structures, and to resist the marketized neoliberal university and re-envision what a ‘good university’ might be. Rejecting the criticism of ‘left pessimists’ in ‘rose coloured glasses’, I make the case for the continuing significance of engaging in public education and research as a public good.     

Applying for Work Visas and Related Documentation

Applying for an employment and residence certificate in China can be roughly broken down into four steps: the Alien Employment License applica- tion; the Employment Visa and Residence Permit Notification application; the Alien Employment Permit application; and the Residence Permit application.     

THE BIG,BAD WORLD

More Chinese college students dive into the big, bad world every June - this year, there are more than 4 million. What's involved in bridging the gap between campus and working life?