讲 座 信 息

主题：Generation Z Changing Attitudes and Behaviors toward Volunteerism in China

时间：6月11日（周三）13：30— 15：30

地点：紫金港西区成均苑8幢10楼南1017

摘要：The “Generation Z” youth (currently from 12 to 27 years old) faced education and social disruption due to the covid pandemic that we argue influences their ideas of an individual’s responsibility to community and definitions of a “meaningful” life. We use the theory developed by Ronald Inglehart (later with Pippa Norris) that generational cohorts have different experiences that might create variation in values and behaviors compared to other generations; for example, economic factors like youth unemployment and uncertainty not experienced by their parents. Although some analysts describe these divergent attitudes as laziness or “lying flat”, we find that these changing attitudes result from different conceptions of a meaningful life. We test these attitude and behavioral differences using the 4th wave of the Civic Participation in China Survey (CPCS), an online survey of urban residents conducted in four waves (2018, 2020, 2022, 2024) looking at individual philanthropic/volunteering behavior and perceptions of civic engagement. Comparing different age cohorts, we examine how Generation Z respondents conceive of the responsibilities of state versus charity organizations, what the most important attributes are in a “meaningful life”, and if their volunteering and donation behavior differs from other age cohorts due to these attitudinal shifts. In initial analysis, we find that this generational cohort is more cynical than previous generations but have higher levels of civic responsibility. This leads to a bifurcation where youth either "lie flat" or actively engage but only in the most local venues. The implications of these attitudinal and behavioral shifts will shape the future of volunteerism in China.

主讲人：Jessica Teets，美国明德学院政治科学系教授，Journal of Chinese Political Science副主编

她的研究方向为治理、创新扩散和社会组织的发展。她曾在The China Quarterly, World Politics, Governance, and the Journal of Contemporary China等杂志发表多篇论文，主编Local Governance Innovation in China: Experimentation, Diffusion, and Defiance（Routledge Contemporary China Series, 2014）。

评议人：周沐君，浙江大学社会学系长聘副教授

布朗大学博士，曾任加州大学伯克利分校中国研究中心博士后研究员。其研究领域为政治社会学、发展社会学、社会运动、文化社会学、社会理论、民族志方法等。相关研究论文发表在Social Science History, POLITICS & SOCIETY, 《社会发展研究》等刊物。

主持人：周陆洋，浙江大学社会学系百人计划研究员

麦吉尔大学社会学博士，研究方向为政治社会学、比较历史研究、帝国与民族主义、革命与战争等，相关研究论文已经发表在 European Journal of Sociology, Nations and Nationalism, Journal of Historical Sociology, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Modern Asian Studies, Nationalities Papers 等刊物，著有 Revolution in China and Russia: Reorganizing Empires into Nation-States (Manchester University Press, 2025) 。