Chinese "Cancer Villages": Rural Development, Environmental Change and Public Health

Ajiang Chen; Pengli Cheng; Yajuan Luo

Published by Amsterdam University Press 2020

Chinese "Cancer Villages"

Rural Development, Environmental Change and Public Health

Ajiang Chen , Pengli Cheng and Yajuan Luo
In collaboration with: China Social Sciences Press

https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048524570

Overview
Contents

About this book

The phenomenon of "cancer villages" has emerged in many parts of rural China, drawing media attention and becoming a fact of social life. However, the relationship between pollution and disease is often hard to discern. Through sociological analysis of several villages with different social and economic structures, the authors offer a comprehensive, historically grounded analysis of the coexistence between the incidence of cancer, environmental pollution and villagers’ lifestyles, as well as the perceptions, claims and responses of different actors. They situate the appearance of "cancer villages" in the context of social, economic and cultural change in China, tracing the evolution of the issue over two decades, and providing deep insights into the complex interactions and trade-offs between economic growth, environmental change and public health.

Author / Editor information

Chen Ajiang :

Chen Ajiang holds a PhD in Sociology from the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (1997). He is currently the Director of the Research Centre for Environment and Society at Hohai University and Chair of the Association of Environmental Sociology, Chinese Sociological Association. His research is primarily in the fields of environmental sociology and rural sociologyCheng Pengli :

Cheng Pengli holds a PhD in Sociology from Hohai University (2011). From 2008-2009 he was a visiting researcher in the Sociology Department of Washington State University. He is currently an Associate Professor of Sociology at Chongqing University of Science and Technology. His major areas of research are environmental sociology, and environment and health risksLuo Yajuan :

Luo Yajuan holds a PhD in Sociology from Hohai University (2013). She is currently a Lecturer at Huzhou University. Her main area of research is environmental sociology.

Reviews

"This book is an important contribution to China studies and scholarly research on environmental health. Comprising 10 chapters, several of which were first published in 2013 in Chinese, the publication of this English-language edition provides a detailed and informative collection of reports on collective medical claims about China's rural population living in deteriorating environmental conditions."
- Suvi Rautio, The China Journal, Volume 86, July 2021

"Impeccably researched and carefully crafted, this work offers a timely and sobering inquiry into collective claims of victimization associated with polluted water and air in rural China."
- Jing Jun, Tsinghua University

"Chinese "Cancer Villages" is a meticulously researched and emotionally charged book that makes important advances in the fields of China studies, environmental health, rural sociology and anthropology."
- Bryan Tilt, Oregon State University

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	1
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	5
List of Figures, Graphs and Tables Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	6
Acknowledgements Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
Preface to the English Language Edition Jennifer Holdaway and Wang Wuyi Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
1 Retrospective Thoughts on the ‘Cancer Village’ Phenomenon Chen Ajiang Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	29
2 The Ins and Outs of a ‘Cancer Village’ Chen Ajiang Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	53
3 A Subei ‘Cancer Village’ Luo Yajuan Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
4 Environmental Change and Health Risks Chen Ajiang Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
5 A Prosperous ‘Cancer Village’ Cheng Pengli Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	159
6 Coexistence of Poverty and Cancer Cheng Pengli and Li Caihong Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
7 Problematization and De-stigmatization Li Caihong and Cheng Pengli Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	209
8 Behind the ‘High Incidence of Lung Cancer’ Li Qi and Chen Ajiang Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	229
9 Villagers’ Perceptions of and Responses to the Relationship between Cancer and Pollution Chen Ajiang and Cheng Pengli Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	255
10 Villagers Strategies for Mitigating Environmental Health Risks Chen Ajiang and Cheng Pengli Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	283
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	297
Index (Chinese) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	300

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 304
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 34
Keywords: Cancer Village; Environment and Health; Risk Cognition; China

eBook

Published: August 23, 2020
ISBN: 9789048524570