“Raising autistic children in China and public anthropology” with An Mengzhu

An Mengzhu, PhD graduate of the Department of Anthropology, CUHK, studies how parents in urban China strive for a dignified and worthy life for their children with autism by responding to various challenges at different stages of their children’s growth. Mengzhu is also one of the core editors of a new media anthropology platform “TyingKnots”, which is dedicated to introducing anthropological perspectives, studies, and engagement to the public. In this episode, Mengzhu shares about her PhD research, discusses her understanding and practice of public anthropology, and explores how to transcend different boundaries through a decentralized way of knowledge production.

(This episode is conducted in Putonghua.)

00’39 Raising children with autism in urban China

14’57 From sociology major to PhD in anthropology

24’20 “Tying Knots”, public anthropology, and de-centralized knowledge production

60’32 To be an anthropologist, to be crossing boundaries