Personal Relationships, Expressions and Identification Markers

Expressive Actions and New Communication Media in China
By Hua Linshan, Isabelle Thireau
English

This article describes uses of the telephone and especially the mobile phone observed in China’s migrant population. The authors first highlight the low level of trust that generally prevails in social relations in China, and describe how cultural resources are mobilized, reactivated and transformed for the creation and preservation of reliable interpersonal relationships. They then analyse two types of action. First, expressive actions manifested by the actor, including relational, distinctive or emotional actions. These lead to embodiments or expressive objects that often undergo a process of codification or social ritualization. Second, there are marker actions which indicate the type of recognition of the actor and attest to his or her power to act.

Go to the article on Cairn-int.info