Study Gods: How the New Chinese Elite Prepare for Global Competition-学神

于今年秋季学期加入上海纽约大学的社会学助理教授姜以琳，近日荣获美国社会学协会2023年皮埃尔·布尔迪厄教育社会学最佳图书奖，成为该奖项历史上首位非美国籍获奖者。

皮埃尔·布尔迪厄教育社会学最佳图书奖是该领域最负盛名的奖项之一。姜教授的著作Study Gods: How the New Chinese Elite Prepare for Global Competition（《学神：中国精英教育现场一手观察》）是第一部聚焦非美国本土案例的获奖作品。 

《学神》一书的研究对象是北京社会经济精英阶层的学生、家长和老师，书中资料来源于姜教授从2012年至2019年这七年积累的民族志研究和访谈记录。

姜教授对这28名精英学生的追踪始于他们高二和高三时期，记录了他们中学、大学、研究生，以及进入中国、美国、欧洲及世界各地职场的人生重要节点。

全书探讨了这些精英学生如何为全球竞争做准备，以及他们如何在竞争中胜出。姜教授的研究表明，这些学生将自己在高中时的“地位”延续到了大学和职场。他们充分利用在学生时代养成的行为习惯，使自己始终处于高位。

书名：Study Gods: How the New Chinese Elite Prepare for Global Competition

作者：Yi-Lin Chiang
 
简介：How privileged adolescents in China acquire status and why this helps them succeed

Study Gods offers a rare look at the ways privileged youth in China prepare themselves to join the ranks of the global elite. Yi-Lin Chiang shows how these competitive Chinese high schoolers first become "study gods" (xueshen), a term describing academically high-performing students. Constant studying, however, is not what explains their success, for these young people appear god-like in their effortless abilities to excel. Instead, Chiang explores how elite adolescents achieve by absorbing and implementing the rules surrounding status.

Drawing from eight years of fieldwork and extensive interviews, Chiang reveals the important lessons that Chinese youth learn in their pursuit of elite status. They understand the hierarchy of the status system, recognizing and acquiring the characteristics that are prized, while avoiding those that are not. They maintain status by expecting differential treatment and performing status-based behaviors, which guide their daily interactions with peers, teachers, and parents. Lastly, with the help of resourceful parents, they rely on external assistance in the face of potential obstacles and failures. Chiang looks at how students hone these skills, applying them as they head to colleges and careers around the world, and in their relationships with colleagues and supervisors.