Please RSVP for the event via Ms Kara Blumenthal at assist@cemeas.uni-goettingen.de.

Presenter:
Lili Jiang (University of Göttingen, Department of East Asian Studies)

Commentators:
Dr. Jesús Pineda (Scientific coordinator and researcher, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
Dr. Sascha Klotzbücher (Acting Chair, Society and Economy of China, University of Göttingen)

Time: Tuesday, 07.07.2020, 6 pm (c.t.) – 7:30 pm
Venue: Online via Zoom

Abstract:
This dissertation explores the changes in Chinese master students’ identity and their sense of belonging during the years of their stay in Germany. The main purpose is to understand how they perceive their attachment to China politically, culturally and ethnically and how the perception gradually changed after their experiences in Germany, where they have learnt and developed different strategies to negotiate their identity and belonging. The study applies a combination of longitudinal method and the method of the biographical narrative interview which tracks 25 Chinese students’ lived experiences and processes of their change from their first semester until after they graduate from Germany, in order to capture critical moments of their transitions. The dissertation provides longitudinal evidence to reveal the complex and multilayered nature of the changing progress of these students’ identity and also supports that students’ transcultural experiences in Germany which helped them “unlearn” a normalized concept of “Chineseness” assisted them to go beyond their state-bound national loyalty and postulate a potential transcultural position in today’s world.

Short Bio:
I was born in Deyang, Sichuan and obtained both my bachelor’s and master’s degree at Sichuan University. I studied applied linguistics and bilingual education in Chengdu, New York, Uppsala and Goettingen. Before coming to Goettingen for my PhD program, I taught Chinese to international students at Sichuan University and Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu.