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DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributorDepartment of Applied Social Sciencesen_US
dc.contributor.advisorKan, Karita (APSS)en_US
dc.contributor.advisorKu, Ben (APSS)en_US
dc.creatorCuini, Giulia-
dc.identifier.urihttps://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/11709-
dc.languageEnglishen_US
dc.publisherHong Kong Polytechnic Universityen_US
dc.rightsAll rights reserveden_US
dc.titleMasters of in-betweenness: living on water, dreaming of land in Cai Rang floating market, Vietnamen_US
dcterms.abstractThe present dissertation examines the Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho city, southern Vietnam, as clusters of informal settlements. Home to large numbers of rural-urban migrants from the Mekong Delta in search of work and opportunities, the research site has never been analyzed through the lenses of urban informality. Its data-gathering phase stretched over more than one year, with six months of intense ethnographic fieldwork (December 2018 – June 2019) in Cai Rang district and two subsequent follow-up visits in November 2019 and July 2020.en_US
dcterms.abstractFar from being relegated to a realm of informality, often represented as illicit transactions and criminality, the inhabitants of the houseboats establish respectful relationships and dialogue with various formal forces, such as the local government, the traffic police and the union representatives. The combination of the longitudinal immersive ethnography and the Actor-Network Theory as a tool to vividly visualize these connections allowed for the emergence of informal and bottom-up mechanisms which help migrants secure livelihoods and bargain for power and political weight in the site.en_US
dcterms.abstractThe inhabitants of these floating informal settlements oscillate between the realms of formality and informality, carefully evaluating the situation and adjusting their behaviour and decisions accordingly. Their tactical in-betweenness manifests as a fluid space that opens various coping possibilities. The text argues that people often choose informal options deliberately because they prefer them to the formal alternative, thus are far from being passive actors and show a remarkably diverse set of agencies.en_US
dcterms.extent[10], 234 pages : color illustrationsen_US
dcterms.isPartOfPolyU Electronic Thesesen_US
dcterms.issued2022en_US
dcterms.educationalLevelPh.D.en_US
dcterms.educationalLevelAll Doctorateen_US
dcterms.LCSHInformal sector (Economics) -- Vietnam -- Cần Thơen_US
dcterms.LCSHBoat living -- Vietnam -- Cần Thơen_US
dcterms.LCSHRiver life -- Vietnam -- Cần Thơen_US
dcterms.LCSHRural-urban migration -- Vietnamen_US
dcterms.LCSHHong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertationsen_US
dcterms.accessRightsopen accessen_US

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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/11709