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Self-Identity Narratives of Chinese Students in the United States

Unique, Ambitious, Global

  • Book
  • © 2023

Overview

Authors:
  1. Sarah Y. Köksal

    1. Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
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  2. Introduction

    • Sarah Y. Köksal
    Pages 1-16

  3. Methods

    • Sarah Y. Köksal
    Pages 17-38

  4. Identity

    • Sarah Y. Köksal
    Pages 39-55

  5. Chinese Education and Study Abroad

    • Sarah Y. Köksal
    Pages 57-84

  6. The Self and the Family

    • Sarah Y. Köksal
    Pages 85-129

  7. The Self and the Peer Group

    • Sarah Y. Köksal
    Pages 131-177

  8. The Self and the Country

    • Sarah Y. Köksal
    Pages 179-198

  9. Conclusion

    • Sarah Y. Köksal
    Pages 199-210

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 211-230
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Keywords

About this book

While previous research has explored the academic adaptation or acculturation processes of Chinese students studying abroad, limited attention has been paid to students’ own perspectives and narrations of their experience. To contribute to a more nuanced understanding of this highly mobile group, this study takes a closer look at the students’ self-identity narratives. How do they make sense of their foreign adventure? How do they position themselves among their peers and their family members, as well as within the greater transnational context? Based on 29 in-depth, biographical interviews with Chinese students in the United States, the findings show the participants’ continuously interpreting and revising their individual, academic, and cultural identities. In the familial context, a recurring narrative of the high-potential only-child could be observed. Many students (and their family members) felt that their unique talents and personalities were not appreciated within the Chinese educational system and thus sought more holistic environments abroad.



Authors and Affiliations

  • Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Munich, Germany

    Sarah Y. Köksal

About the author

About the author
Dr. Sarah Köksal is a researcher in American Cultural History and Cultural Anthropology at Ludwig Maximilian University. For her research project on narrative identities of Chinese international students she conducted fieldwork at the University of California Berkeley and was a recipient of the 2021 LMU-UCB Excellent Research in the Humanities Scholarship.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Self-Identity Narratives of Chinese Students in the United States

  • Book Subtitle: Unique, Ambitious, Global

  • Authors: Sarah Y. Köksal

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-40627-1

  • Publisher: Springer VS Wiesbaden

  • eBook Packages: Social Science and Law (German Language)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2023

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-658-40626-4Published: 01 February 2023

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-658-40627-1Published: 31 January 2023

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIII, 230

  • Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations, 9 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: American Culture, Social Anthropology

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