Zexi Wang L&S Arts & Humanities
Management as Technique: The Rise of Governmentality in China, 1976-88
What does the term guanli 管理 mean in Chinese? Although often translated as “management” in English, is guanli necessarily equivalent to “the Western” concept of management? The idea of management is not new in the Chinese context, but guanli—literally, composed of guan 管(meaning “to control”) and li 理(meaning “reason”)—is a neologism that did not come and gained its popular currency until Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms. Understanding management in terms of guanli is important because it reveals how management is not just a neutral, technical practice but a historically and culturally situated technique with which China makes itself into a modern being through governmentality. In my research, I conceive guanli as a technical being that evolves and plays out the historical backdrop that first seems to give rise to its coming. By examining the emergence of guanli in relation to its intertwined political and scientific discourses, I aim to answer the following questions: Under what historical condition did the idea of management take its root in China? What role did guanli play in making China a modern state?
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Thank you for supporting my research. I am grateful for your generosity and for the trust you place in my ongoing exploration of guanli. Your support for a project still in formation not only enables, but also un-manages, intellectual inquiry – allowing it to be open, critical, and meaningful.