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Thinking Allowed: Gender inequality in China & Smokestack nostalgia

Updated Wednesday, 28th May 2014

Examining the pressures facing modern Chinese women and questioning the desire to reflect back and find value in our industrial past.

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Chinese woman speaking on a phone at her desk in an office.

Weekly, The Open University and BBC Radio 4 come together to explore the latest thinking in the social sciences.

In this week's edition, Chinese women and the resurgence of gender inequality. Laurie Taylor talks to Leta Hong Fincher, about 'Leftover Women', her study of the pressures facing modern Chinese women who are often locked out of social equality, property rights, and legal protection from domestic abuse.

Also, 'smokestack nostalgia' - the meaning of post-industrial imagery. Tim Stangleman, Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent, questions the continuing desire to reflect back and find value in our industrial past.

This episode of Thinking Allowed is first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 4.00pm on Wednesday, 28th May 2014. For further broadcast details and to listen again where available, please visit the BBC website.

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