Empowerment and Healing: A Duoethnographic Study on Two International Doctoral Student-Mothers in the U.S.

• In Event: Academic Mothers

Abstract

This duoethnographic study explores how intersectional identities as Chinese migrants, doctoral students in education, and mothers of color shape our journeys in transnational contexts. From May 2023 to November 2024, we held weekly one-hour Zoom meetings to reflect on our experiences, share updates, and engage in collaborative meaning-making as international doctoral student-mothers. Grounded in feminist and intersectionality theories (Crenshaw, 1991), the study identifies three key findings: reclaiming the value of transnational knowledge, resisting gendered expectations and rewriting womanhood, and cultivating mutual care and emotional well-being. This study adds to the limited research on international doctoral student-mothers, particularly those from China, offering insights into how doctoral student mothers navigating transnational contexts make sense of and reshape both motherhood and scholarship.

Authors

• Xiaoyi Wei, SUNY Brockport

• Qinghua Liu, Boston College