Patriotic Professionalism in Urban China

“Lisa Hoffman has given us an extraordinary study of the now ubiquitous urban professional in China. A critical mediation on debates about neoliberalism, governmentality, and the crafting of selves, this is likewise a beautifully written ethnography of Dalian as a global city. Hoffman takes us into strange but familiar worlds, where social mobility, the marketing of talent, and the mobilization of human capital are central to new forms of capitalist development and, at the same time, informed by a Maoist-era ethics of care for the nation. This is a must read for anyone interested in the brave new world of capitalism in China. A stupendous achievement.” 
-Ralph Litzinger, Duke University