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Interview Mindi Schneider food podcast China Eats
Mindi Schneider was interviewed for the podcast, China Eats, about her work on the practices and politics of Chinese banquets, which are an integral part of business, government, and many research relationships in China.
She discusses the meaning of guanxi, a Chinese concept for the cultivation of relationships and networks of mutual dependence that are central in forming and maintaining relationships and trust, and the role of banquets in guanxi-building. The podcast discussion builds on her recent co-authored article in Gender, Place & Culture entitled, “We, too: contending with the sexual politics of fieldwork in China” to discuss how banquets and guanxi-building are different for men and women, especially those engaged in fieldwork. The podcast and the article are useful for students, mentors, and supervisors who work in China Studies in particular, as it outlines norms and expectations around banquets and guanxi, which are crucial for those navigating institutional and other relations in China. Field researchers more generally who wish to engage further with gendered aspects of their work can also find insights and literature in the article, and mentors and supervisors can benefit from better understanding some of the gendered risks and tradeoffs that often come with field-based research.
Link to the podcast: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/chinaeats/id/15255821
Link to the open-access article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0966369X.2020.1781793