Written by Siwen Zhang, an advanced doctoral student at HGSE.
Chinese international students in American universities face a unique juxtaposition. They grew up in China, a one-party-polity and socialist market economy that prioritizes stabilization, and they also experience the US as an established democracy under a volatile administration. As the politics of Washington and the fear of the return of nationalist rhetoric become ever more incorporated in the US public discourse, being an international student in American universities at this time can be confusing. Their decisions to pursue higher education in the US are often apolitical, and reflective of the aspiration to raise the overall quality of education and life for themselves and their families (Fong, 2011). Away from familiar contexts, students come into contact with, and must navigate the different rules in the unspoken social, cultural, and political structures of a new country. In this way, they are optimally positioned to become globally rooted, critical citizens who challenge one’s own assumptions, engage with others, and critically explore different contexts in learning (Barker, 2000; Beck, 2000; Rizvi, 2009; Szelényi et al., 2007).
The significant shifts in the US political landscape place new demands on higher education. Much scholarly work on international students have focused on individual characteristics, such as academic integration (Rienties, 2011; Zepke & Leach, 2005), learning styles (De Vita, 2001; Joy & Kolb, 2009), emotional adjustment, stress and anxiety (Russell, 2010; Ward, 2005). Few studies consider how students make and are being made into subjects of nation-state(s) (Ong, 1996; Szelényi & Rhoads et al., 2007). When economic, social, or cultural allegiances are more malleable, the traditional definition of citizenship purely based on legal bounds to a particular government no longer suffice (Ong, 1999). As students gain expanded awareness about issues that cut across boundaries, we need to know more about the cultural process and discourses that shape how they perceive and handle the confusions and tensions that come with straddling two cultures.
I am about to conduct a research, which will try to understand, qualitatively, how and in what ways through which Chinese international college students’ experiences of mobility and culture crossing shift their perceptions of their political awareness, allegiance, and civic identity. I propose to use interviews and focus groups to reveal areas of tension, conflict, affirmation, and uncertainty around students’ civic identity and agency, and the contexts in which people feel connection and disconnection to enact upon civic issues in various domains. I will conduct thematic analysis to demonstrate different patterns of salient values between cultures, and discourse analysis to gain deeper and more dynamic understanding of their functions, processes and implications.