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Faculty Profile

Q Forrest ZHANG's photo

Q Forrest ZHANG

Full-time Faculty

Associate Professor of Sociology; Lee Kong Chian Fellow

School of Social Sciences SOSS

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

Related Links

Research Video:

Rural Transition in China

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Curriculum Vitae

Research Areas and Areas of Expertise

Strategic Priorities

Highlights
18
Publications
22
H-Index (All Time)
2571
Citations (All Time)
Qian Forrest Zhang is a leading scholar in agrarian political economy and sustainable agrifood systems, renowned for his extensive research on rural transformation and development in contemporary China.

Widely recognized for bridging theoretical innovation with empirical research on rural China, Zhang’s work has shaped policy debates on agrarian change, rural revitalization, and sustainable food systems; his scholarship is distinguished by comparative analysis, interdisciplinary approaches, and direct engagement with both academic and policy communities.

Focused research areas include Rural revitalization, agrarian transition, alternative food networks, contract farming, farmers’ cooperatives, rural-urban inequality, social mobility, and the impacts of agricultural modernization in China.
Areas of Expertise
Agrarian political economysustainable agrifood systemssociology of developmentstratification and mobilitycontemporary Chinese society.
This highlights are AI-generated content using the faculty's CV.

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