In recent years, 'lying flat' — a Chinese youth countercultural phenomenon that rejects overwork and pursues a low-desire lifestyle — has caught global attention. Combining cultural sociology with the sociology of emotions, Runya Qiaoan's research reconstructs lying flat as a meaning structure organized by moral codes and fortified by emotions.
Through ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews, Qiaoan found that her interlocutors, who are perceived as lying-flat youth by their friends, often reject this label and embody shame when being associated with the term. The fact that “lying flat” is rarely claimed (proudly) shows that it operates as a symbolic boundary marker: once coded as polluted, it becomes difficult to claim without moral injury. The stigmatizing function of the “lying-flat” label reveals a conflict in the Chinese civil sphere over the moral boundaries of “good citizens.” Such moral boundary-making is regulated by internalized emotions associated with the term, which led to disidentification with counterculture: counter-normative practices spread, but identity-claiming is rare.
In this talk, Runya Qiaoan will present her empirical findings and develop a theoretical account grounded in first-hand interview data.
The 'Forschungskolloquium'
Every semester, researchers from the Department present their projects and research topics at a public in-person event.
