Naming Practices and Identity Negotiation of Chinese International Students: A Critical Collaborative Autoethnography

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 2:15 pm - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Autoethnographies of Multilingualism: Identity, Family, and Critical Language Pedagogy in Transnational Contexts

Abstract

Situated in a transnational context, this critical collaborative autoethnography explores how we, three Chinese international doctoral students, navigate naming practices in the U.S. Guided by dramaturgy and Critical Race Theory, we examine how U.S. racial dynamics and language ideologies shape our decisions of name usage across social and educational settings. We found that Chinese international students often experience a sense of loss tied to their names in the U.S., face confusion and complex decisions about using Chinese and English names, make compromises to meet dominant norms, and long for respect for their naming choices. Our counter-narratives reveal naming as a site of identity negotiation and resistance. Implications for language educators and institutions are provided.

Authors

• Xinhang Hermione Hu, University of Maryland

• Xiaohan Gang, Syracuse University

• Yige Zou, University of Washington