Why do local academic networks matter profoundly in some places but far less in others, even when academic communities occupy similar positions in the global order of knowledge production? This research advances an institutionalist answer by comparing sociological academia in Beijing and Hong Kong. Drawing on 58 interviews with sociologists across nine Chinese cities and reflexive participant observation, it shows that the salience of local networks is shaped by academic gatekeeping systems—institutional arrangements that check, judge, and evaluate the quality of academic works and the ability of individual scholars. In Beijing, domestically anchored gatekeeping concentrates authority locally, sustaining dense mentor–student networks and making local ties pivotal for training, publication, promotion, and resource allocation. In Hong Kong, internationally anchored gatekeeping reduces the pay-off to local ties, encouraging outward-oriented networking and thinner local associations. This study refines the centre–periphery model by specifying how institutional gatekeeping produces inward- and outward-oriented knowledge production.

About the speaker:

ZHANG Long is Associate Professor of Sociology at Nankai University, where he previously served as Lecturer from 2021 to 2024. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Hong Kong in 2021, an M.Phil. in Sociology from Peking University in 2016, and a B.L. in Sociology from Nanjing University in 2013. His research focuses on the sociology of knowledge, cultural sociology, and medical sociology, with particular attention to two main lines: the institutional development of Chinese sociology since the 1980s and social process of medical dispute resolution in contemporary China. He has published in leading Chinese and international journals, including Chinese Sociological Review; Chinese Journal of Sociology; Sociological Review of China; China Studies; Youth Studies, among others. He is currently working as the principal investigator of a National Social Science Fund of China that focuses on the institutional and historical analysis of the “Chinese sociology”.

📅 Date: Friday, 6 February, 2026

🕑 Time: 4:00pm – 5:00pm

📍 Venue: CJT-9.29

🗣️ Language: English

🔗 Register here: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=104669