OxTalks is Changing
Oxford Events, the new replacement for OxTalks, will launch on 16th March. From now until the launch of Oxford Events, new events cannot be published or edited on OxTalks while all existing records are migrated to the new platform. The existing OxTalks site will remain available to view during this period.
From 16th, Oxford Events will launch on a new website: events.ox.ac.uk, and event submissions will resume. You will need a Halo login to submit events. Full details are available on the Staff Gateway.
Building Halos: how do Chinese elites seek distinction through (mis) recognising studying abroad?
Dr. Ye Liu, King’s College London, UK
Dr. Wenqin Shen, Peking University, China
Why do Chinese elite graduates choose to study abroad? How do they construct “distinction”? Using a case study of Peking University and drawing upon empirical data from a first-hand survey study, in-depth interviews and observations, we find a pattern of distinction making through “building triple halos”, which encompasses dual processes of educational emulation and (mis-)recognition. Our statistical analyses suggest that students from leading cadres and managerial families actively pursued study abroad as “extra time” to make distinction, which games out even elite graduates without adequate economic resources. The qualitative data reveal a complex process of distinction-making which connects individual agency and educational processes with organisational intermediaries. The elites signal superiority by building three “halos” (elite schools, PKU and the Ivy League scholarship-holders)-a process gradually narrowing the circle of “us” and excluding aspirational “others”. This individual level of distinction-making is coordinated with collective consensus, and organisational intermediaries in seeking, justifying, and (mis-)recognising studying abroad as a pathway to distinction. We further reveal the complexity of the identities of the PKU elites as both possessors and challengers of distinction. Yet, the main beneficiaries are the agents of the study-abroad industry, who not only consolidate their client base in PKU but also pursue a new business route of accommodating the challengers. This particular finding will be discussed in relation to China’s recent crackdown on the study abroad industry.
Date:
19 October 2021, 14:00
Venue:
Zoom webinar, registration required
Speaker: Various Speakers
Organising department:
Department of Education
Booking required?:
Required
Booking url:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwucOihpzoqGd23twCKTTSeT04bdIlC71uG
Cost:
Free
Audience:
Public
Editor:
Trevor Treharne
