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Segmented Incorporation: The Second Generation of Rural Migrants in Shanghai*

  • Pei-chia Lan (a1)

Abstract

This article looks at the changing frameworks for the institutional and cultural incorporation of second-generation rural migrants in Shanghai. Beginning in 2008, Shanghai launched a new policy of accepting migrant children into urban public schools at primary and secondary levels. I show that the hukou (household registration) is still a critical social boundary in educational institutions, shaping uneven distribution of educational resources and opportunities, as well as hierarchical recognition of differences between urbanites and migrants. I have coined the term “segmented incorporation” to characterize a new receiving context, in which systematic exclusion has given way to more subtle forms of institutional segmentation which reproduces cultural prejudice and reinforces group boundaries.

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I thank Tseng Yen-Fen, Hyunjoon Park, Martin Whyte, Macabe Keliher and two anonymous reviewers for their comments. I also appreciate the assistance of Chen Yenchun, Ho Xiao, Li Yao-Tai, Jiang Hoching, Xiong Yihan, Ma Li, Ling Minhua, Wu Jieh-Min and Chen Chih-Jou. The research was supported by a grant from the National Science Council in Taiwan (NSC 97-2410-H-002-064, 98-2410-H-002-136). This article was completed during my visiting fellowship at Harvard Radcliffe and Yenching Institute in 2011–12.

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Segmented Incorporation: The Second Generation of Rural Migrants in Shanghai*

  • Pei-chia Lan (a1)

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