Ethnic Diversity in China and the Role of Minzu University: Analyzing Organizational Narratives of Change

• In Event: A Comparative Perspective of Racial/Ethnic Inequality and Higher Education as a Social Justice Force

Abstract

Based on an ethnographic case study of faculty life at Minzu University of China (MUC), this paper analyzes the university’s longstanding social responsibility to serve the nation’s ethnic affairs in light of more recent pressures to elevate MUC as a comprehensive research university (Zhang 2012). The paper first reviews the context of ethnic diversity and struggle in China and then highlights the key role of the minzu college and university system (minzu means national ethnic group in Chinese Mandarin). This includes a discussion of the unique and complex facets of ethnicity in China, including regionally based ethnic tensions (Fei 1989, 1992; He 2008; Ma 2004, 2010; Zhu and Blachford 2006). Discussion of the minzu system is connected to broader issues of ethnic minority access and equity, framed in terms of the nation’s “preferential policies” or youhui zhengce (Clothey 2005; Sautman 1999). The authors go on to identify and discuss three organizational narratives evident among the faculty at MUC: 1) internationalization, 2) marketization, and 3) ethnocultural development. Although the vast majority of faculty support efforts to internationalize the university, tension among the faculty exists with regard to the marketization and ethnocultural development narratives, thus potentially compromising the longstanding mission to serve ethnic minority populations. The authors connect the tension evidenced at MUC to international trends reflecting the influence of neoliberal ideology, including greater emphasis on marketization and privatization as part of a redefinition of the public good. The authors conclude by drawing comparisons to the contemporary challenges confronting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States, as revealed through key research literature (Allen et al. 2007; Brown and Davis 2001; Brown and Ricard 2007; Palmer 2010).

Authors

• Robert A. Rhoads, University of California - Los Angeles

• Xiaoyang Sun, Temple University