The Indigenization Debate in China: A Field Perspective

The indigenization of sociology has been an issue of considerable controversy in China. Rather than taking a side in the debate itself, this article intends to make sense of different perspectives in the debate. Utilizing Bourdieu's field theory, it links a sociologist's view on indigenization with the sociologist's position within China's sociological field. This article traces the history of the indigenization debate in China and proposes a theoretical model based on Bourdieu's insight. It then analyzes how the different combinations of academic and political capital shape the different positions on indigenization and how such a debate can be viewed as a symbolic struggle in the intellectual field.