Faculty Profile

Dr Qian Forrest Zhang joined Singapore Management University in 2005. Currently, he is Associate Professor of Sociology and the Associate Dean for Research at the School of Social Sciences. He completed his undergraduate training at Fudan University in Shanghai and obtained a PhD in sociology from Yale University in 2004. His research focuses on China’s agrarian political economy and rural development but extends to a range of other issues in contemporary China, including self-employment, stratification and inequality, social mobility, and family relations. His recent works have investigated agricultural cooperatives, industrial pig farming, the agrarian capitalist class, and land politics. He is the recipient of the 2015 Bernstein & Byres Prize in agrarian change.

Qualifications

• PhD in Sociology, Yale University, 2004
• MA in Urban Geography, University of Georgia, 1998
• BS in Management Information System, Fudan University, 1995

Research Interests

• Agrarian political economy
• Social class
• Family and social mobility
• Self-employment and informal economy
• Contemporary chinese society

Course(s) Taught in SMU

• Understanding China’s Economic Miracle: Social Origins and Social Impact
• Sociology Study Mission