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Prof. Einstein served graduate students as a model of prudence in remaining unfashionably true to the grand…
Conversations with Bourdieu
By: Michael Burawoy and Karl Von Holdt
Departmental Colloquium Series
Cameron Campbell "Social Origins of Educational and Bureaucratic Elites in 19th Century China: Findings from Historical Big Data"
Monday, April 3, 2023 - 2:00 pm - April 3, 2023 - 3:30 pm
Blumer Room - 402 Social Sciences Building
The assumption that in China before the 20th century the examination system made it possible for men to qualify for appointment as an official based on their talent and without regard to their family background underpins claims that the imperial bureaucracy was meritocratic. However, decades of empirical investigations of the family backgrounds of examination degree holders have yielded conflicting results about the possibilities for upward mobility into educational and bureaucratic elites via the exams. I advance the debate on the role of family background by shifting the focus from exam degree attainment to appointment and promotion as an official. By analysis of examination records and career histories, I show that between 1830 and 1911, men whose patrilineal ancestors held degrees or who had been officials w