Identity Formation of Chinese International Graduate Students in Canada: Examining Their Settlement and Racial Identity

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Four
  In Roundtable Session: Roundtable One. Resilience and Lived Experiences That We Share in Our Communities: Transnational Experiences, Identity Developments, and Sense of Belonging (Table 11)

Abstract

China has undergone significant changes over the past few decades because of its reform and opening door policy since the late 1970s. Chinese citizens born in the 1990s grew up in an era of significant historical change. Through case studies of four Chinese doctoral students across Canada, this study explores their identity formation as they negotiate their understandings of race, nationality, values, and beliefs throughout their settlement journey. The findings of this study not only suggest that participants were unaware of their racialized location when settling in Canada due to the lack of critical discourse on race in their home country but also reveal the neo-racism against Chinese students during the pandemic forced participants to re-evaluate their career trajectories.

Authors

• Mingyi Li, University of Toronto
  Presenting Author

• Mary Reid, OISE/University of Toronto
  Presenting Author