Chinese "Cancer Villages": Rural Development, Environmental Change and Public Health

The phenomenon of cancer villages has emerged in many parts of rural China, drawing media attention and becoming a fact of social life. However, the relationship between pollution and disease is often hard to discern. Through sociological analysis of several villages with different social and economic structures, the authors offer a comprehensive, historically grounded analysis of the coexistence between the incidence of cancer, environmental pollution and villagers’ lifestyles, as well as the perceptions, claims and responses of different actors. They situate the appearance of cancer villages in the context of social, economic and cultural change in China, tracing the evolution of the issue over two decades, and providing deep insights into the complex interactions and trade-offs between economic growth, environmental change and public health.

Chen Ajiang holds a PhD in Sociology from the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (1997). He is currently the Director of the Research Centre for Environment and Society at Hohai University and Chair of the Association of Environmental Sociology, Chinese Sociological Association. His research is primarily in the fields of environmental sociology and rural sociology Cheng Pengli holds a PhD in Sociology from Hohai University (2011). From 2008-2009 he was a visiting researcher in the Sociology Department of Washington State University. He is currently an Associate Professor of Sociology at Chongqing University of Science and Technology. His major areas of research are environmental sociology, and environment and health risks Luo Yajuan holds a PhD in Sociology from Hohai University (2013). She is currently a Lecturer at Huzhou University. Her main area of research is environmental sociology.