Globalization, Consumerism, and Cultural Change in Modern China
By Jonathan Henderson

Introduction
The Harry Potter books, by British author J.K. Rowling, are the most popular children’s fantasy books in publishing history.  In the US alone, there is one copy in print for nearly every 2.5 Americans. The fifth book in the series became the first English-Language book ever to top the bestseller list in France. Since the first book was published 10 years ago the series has sold over 400 million copies world wide and has been translated into 64 languages. Indeed, “Pottermania” has crossed national and cultural boundaries and become a truly global phenomena. Even in China, where many critics thought the books too foreign to gain wide acceptance, the Harry Potter series has set publishing records and drawn millions of urban Chinese youth into the orbit of global popular culture.

Owing to the transnational character of Pottermania, the Harry Potter books provide a convenient means to track the currents of global popular culture both in terms of its dissemination and in the varied ways it is appropriated and understood in specific localities. The purpose of this project is to use the popularity of these books in China to convey the larger story of China’s integration into the world’s economy as a major consumer of global popular culture. In doing so, the project will: 1) recount China’s recent and extraordinary economic growth, 2) suggest why the Harry Potter books might be so popular among affluent urban youth, and 3) highlight some challenges China faces as it rapidly transforms itself from an agrarian based economy to a modern market based economy.