Chinese Migrant Youths’ (Re)Conceptualization of Civic Identities Amid U.S.-China Geopolitical Tension

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Civic Engagement and Civic Identity With Asian and Asian American Communities (Table 9)

Abstract

The US-China geopolitical tension deeply affects Chinese Americans’ lives, but research into how they negotiate this tension is scant. Using AsianCrit and transnational citizenship, this study examines how Chinese migrant youths in the US (re)conceptualize their civic identities and belonging in a time when China is seen as an enemy. Based on pilot study results, anticipated findings expect that the youths would reconceptualize Chinese and American as identities not bounded by political borders. Their in-betweenness amidst the geopolitical tension may provide them with critical perspectives of the nationalistic discourses from both states. The implications for social studies educators and researchers would include a critical reimagination of civic education that actively challenges the centrality of nation-state in the citizenship discourses.

Author

• Chenyu Li, Indiana University - South Bend