Chinese University Students and Their Experiences of Acculturation at an Ethnic Christian Church

Authors

  • Xiaoyang Sun Temple University, United States
  • Robert A Rhoads University of California Los Angeles, United States

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v8i1.157

Keywords:

acculturation, Chinese international students, diversity mission, ethnographic methods, subculture

Abstract

This paper examines the experiences of Chinese international students from East Coast University (a pseudonym) in the United States through their participation in a Chinese ethnic-based Christian church (CCC). Employing ethnographic-based fieldwork, the study highlights how Chinese international students see their experiences in CCC as a source of acculturation to U.S. society. However, the students evidence little understanding of the reality that they are in fact being acculturated to a subculture within U.S. society that at times embraces values contradictory to those of progressive-oriented East Coast University.

Author Biographies

  • Xiaoyang Sun, Temple University, United States

    XIAOYANG SUN is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at Temple University in Philadelphia. Her research focuses on ethnic and racial minorities and their experiences in higher education.

  • Robert A Rhoads, University of California Los Angeles, United States

    ROBERT RHOADS is Professor of Higher Education and Organizational Change and Chinese Studies at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). His research focuses on globalization and university reform in China and the United States.

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Published

2018-01-01

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2018)

Section

Research Articles (English)

Categories

License

All published articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Unported License.

How to Cite

Chinese University Students and Their Experiences of Acculturation at an Ethnic Christian Church. (2018). Journal of International Students, 8(1), 131–150. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v8i1.157