TEDxGuangzhou (TEDxXiguan) 2014-2023

中国会出现自己的奥巴马吗？

麦高登

一个人对国家的归属感，可以来自民族认同，也可以来自公民认同。在这场充满思辨的演讲中，人类学家麦高登（Gordon Mathews）探讨了这两种认同方式的区别，并抛出了一个耐人寻味的问题：中国会有自己的奥巴马吗？中国究竟是一个面向世界的国家，还是仅仅属于本国公民？

麦高登是香港中文大学人类学系教授兼系主任。他的近期代表作包括《广州的世界：非洲人与外国商人在华南全球市场中的生存》（2017，与林丹、杨阳合著）以及《世界中心的贫民窟：香港重庆大厦的全球化生意》（2011）。

在他的学术生涯中，他的研究涉及多个领域，包括：日本和美国人如何定义有意义的生活、全球化时代文化的流动与认同、日本社会的代际差异、在香港及其他地区归属一个国家的意义、不同文化对幸福的理解，以及全球范围内的低端全球化现象。他目前的研究方向则聚焦于美国、日本和中国社会对“死后的世界”的不同认知。

Will China have its own Barack Obama?

Gordon Mathews

There are two kinds of belonging to a country: one based on ethnic identity and the other on civic identity. In this thought-provoking talk, anthropologist Gordon Mathews explains the difference and poses an intriguing question: Will China have its own Barack Obama? Is China a country for the world, or only for the Chinese?

Gordon Mathews is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Anthropology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His most recent books include The World in Guangzhou: Africans and Other Foreigners in South China’s Global Marketplace (2017, co-authored with Lin Dan and Yang Yang) and Ghetto at the Center of the World: Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong (2011).

Throughout his career, Mathews has written and edited books on a wide range of topics, including what makes life meaningful in Japan and the United States, the concept of a global cultural supermarket and the meanings of culture today, the Japanese generation gap, the idea of national belonging in Hong Kong and beyond, how different societies define happiness, and the phenomenon of low-end globalization around the world.

His current research explores perceptions of life after death in the United States, Japan, and China.