Bodies of Difference - by Matthew Kohrman (Paperback)

About the Book

"Kohrman reveals to us, with a keen ethnographic eye and subtle prose, the emergent world of disabilities in China. His analysis of identity and bureaucracy is fascinating. And his discussion of how bodies, particularly men's bodies, inform the biopolitics of disablement is riveting."--Paul Rabinow, Professor of Anthropology, UC Berkeley, author of "Anthropos Today: Reflections on Modern Equipment"
"Throughout this path-breaking book, Kohrman illustrates the importance of examining disability in relation to modernity, state-building, and bodily experiences. His ethnography is rich in historical detail, penetrating in analysis, and movingly attentive to the vicissitudes of people's lives. Above all, it is timely."--Jing Jun, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, Tsinghua University
"Kohrman has produced an invaluable anthropological contribution to disability studies, combining adroit analyses of biopolitics with an ethnographic sensibility to gender, embodiment, and biography. Whether deconstructing statistics, investigating the advent of motorized tricycles for male polio survivors, or ferreting out truth-in-advertising amidst marriage arrangements, "Bodies of Difference" helps us glean in new ways how state-making, suffering, and human agency generate one another."--Rayna Rapp, Professor of Anthropology, NYU, Author, "Testing Women, Testing the Fetus"
""Bodies of Difference" is a breath of fresh air in this tremendously important arena of medical anthropology. Kohrman writes clearly and gracefully. His scholarship is evident on every page."--Linda S. Mitteness, Professor of Medical Anthropology, UCSF

Book Synopsis

Bodies of Difference chronicles the compelling story of disability's emergence as an area of significant sociopolitical activity in contemporary China. Keenly attentive to how bodies are embedded in discourse, history, and personal exigency, Matthew Kohrman details ways that disability became a fount for the production of institutions and identities across the Chinese landscape during the final decades of the twentieth century. He looks closely at the creation of the China Disabled Persons' Federation and the lives of numerous individuals, among them Deng Pufang, son of China's Communist leader Deng Xiaoping.

From the Back Cover

"Kohrman reveals to us, with a keen ethnographic eye and subtle prose, the emergent world of disabilities in China. His analysis of identity and bureaucracy is fascinating. And his discussion of how bodies, particularly men's bodies, inform the biopolitics of disablement is riveting."--Paul Rabinow, Professor of Anthropology, UC Berkeley, author of Anthropos Today: Reflections on Modern Equipment

"Throughout this path-breaking book, Kohrman illustrates the importance of examining disability in relation to modernity, state-building, and bodily experiences. His ethnography is rich in historical detail, penetrating in analysis, and movingly attentive to the vicissitudes of people's lives. Above all, it is timely."--Jing Jun, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, Tsinghua University

"Kohrman has produced an invaluable anthropological contribution to disability studies, combining adroit analyses of biopolitics with an ethnographic sensibility to gender, embodiment, and biography. Whether deconstructing statistics, investigating the advent of motorized tricycles for male polio survivors, or ferreting out truth-in-advertising amidst marriage arrangements, Bodies of Difference helps us glean in new ways how state-making, suffering, and human agency generate one another."--Rayna Rapp, Professor of Anthropology, NYU, Author, Testing Women, Testing the Fetus

"Bodies of Difference is a breath of fresh air in this tremendously important arena of medical anthropology. Kohrman writes clearly and gracefully. His scholarship is evident on every page."--Linda S. Mitteness, Professor of Medical Anthropology, UCSF

About the Author

Matthew Kohrman is Associate Professor of Cultural and Social Anthropology at Stanford University.