The Time Inheritors: How Time Inequalities Shape Higher Education Mobility in China
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
- Venue
- SOAS Main Building
- Room
- RB01
- Event type
- Seminar & Event highlights
About this event
Dr Cora Lingling Xu will introduce key arguments of her latest book on The Time Inheritors: How Time Inequalities Shape Higher Education Mobility in China.
Can a student inherit time? What difference does time make to their educational journeys and outcomes? The Time Inheritors draws on nearly a decade of field research with more than 100 youth in China to argue that intergenerational transfers of privilege or deprivation are manifested in and through time.
Comparing experiences of rural-to-urban, cross-border, and transnational education, Dr Cora Lingling Xu shows how inequalities in time inheritance help drive deeply unequal mobility. With its unique focus on time, nuanced comparative analysis, and sensitive ethnographic engagement, The Time Inheritors opens new avenues for understanding the social mechanisms shaping the future of China and the world.
Registration
This event is free to attend, but registration is required. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. This event is taking place on campus and will not be recorded or live-streamed.
Organiser
About the speaker
Dr Cora Lingling Xu is Associate Professor at Durham University. She is a sociologist interested in education mobilities and social inequalities. Her research examines how the intersection of class, gender, ethnicity, rural-urban divides, time, and geopolitics can shape social agents’ educational and life trajectories.
She is an executive editor of the British Journal of Sociology of Education. Cora’s research on Chinese international students has been featured in BBC Radio 4's documentary Chinese on Campus and on BBC News. Cora was a visiting scholar at the Centre for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA in Spring 2025.
This event will be chaired by Professor Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute.
Contact
Email: sci@soas.ac.uk
Photo credit: Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash
Book cover
