Population Research Discovery Seminars
When Geographies Collide: Hierarchical Regional Systems in China's Great Leap Famine
Mark Henderson, Public Policy & Urban Affairs, Northeastern University
Parrington Hall Room 360
To Join By Zoom: Register HERE
Follow this link to sign up for a 1:1 meeting with Dr. Henderson during their visit on January 24th
01/24/2025
12:30-1:30 PM PT
360 Parrington Hall
Co-Sponsor(s):
This project, initiated jointly with Cai Yong (UW PhD ’05) and Anthony Garnaut, aims to develop a new approach to analyzing spatial variations in the demographic impact of China’s Great Leap Forward (1958-61) using reliable georeferenced data. Building on the insights of anthropologist G. William Skinner, we direct attention to the conflicting spatial logics of political and market hierarchies. This approach compels us to reexamine conclusions drawn from data aggregated at the level of politically defined units—provinces, prefectures, counties, and townships—even as we find that political choices made at those levels had demonstrable effects on the outcomes of the Great Leap famine.
Mark Henderson is a professor of public policy at Mills College, which merged into Northeastern University in 2022. His research applies spatial analytic methods to social and environmental problems in the United States and China. He received a PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from UC Berkeley and was a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis, contributing to G. William Skinner’s regional systems analysis project.