"Because I am a foreigner”: western migrants’ navigations of the Chinese state
"Because I am a foreigner”: western migrants’ navigations of the Chinese state
The numbers of Western migrants in China have risen dramatically since the 1970s, due to changes in immigration policies which have opened opportunities to foreigners. However, the experiences of these migrants remain mixed in terms of welcome and hostility by both the state and its citizens. Migrant settlement processes involve navigating the dynamics of these attitudes to establish a ‘viable subjectivity’ for both themselves and others. Based on research conducted with English language teachers, I explore how Western migrants articulate their subjective positions in relation to China and its peoples. The chapter deploys Bakhtin’s concept of ‘double voicing’, by which speakers bring together their own voice with that of an imagined ‘other’, such as the Chinese state. This approach helps to reveal a heightened awareness of the contested and contradictory discourses of ‘foreignness’, and how these are intertwined with concepts of nationality and race in the Chinese imagination. While analysis demonstrates the diversity and instability of migrants’ relationships to agency and security in this context, social structural factors endure, such as social background and a white skin, to enable migrants to differentially mitigate the risks of precarity with efficacy.
Migration, China, English Language Teaching, whiteness
50-86
Leonard, Pauline
a2839090-eccc-4d84-ab63-c6a484c6d7c1
Leonard, Pauline
a2839090-eccc-4d84-ab63-c6a484c6d7c1
Leonard, Pauline
(2024)
"Because I am a foreigner”: western migrants’ navigations of the Chinese state.
In,
Lan, Shanshan and Debnar, Milos
(eds.)
Migration, Transnational Flows, and the Contested Meanings of Race in Asia.
(IMISCOE Research Series)
1 ed.
Switzerland.
Springer Cham, .
(In Press)
Record type:
Book Section
Abstract
The numbers of Western migrants in China have risen dramatically since the 1970s, due to changes in immigration policies which have opened opportunities to foreigners. However, the experiences of these migrants remain mixed in terms of welcome and hostility by both the state and its citizens. Migrant settlement processes involve navigating the dynamics of these attitudes to establish a ‘viable subjectivity’ for both themselves and others. Based on research conducted with English language teachers, I explore how Western migrants articulate their subjective positions in relation to China and its peoples. The chapter deploys Bakhtin’s concept of ‘double voicing’, by which speakers bring together their own voice with that of an imagined ‘other’, such as the Chinese state. This approach helps to reveal a heightened awareness of the contested and contradictory discourses of ‘foreignness’, and how these are intertwined with concepts of nationality and race in the Chinese imagination. While analysis demonstrates the diversity and instability of migrants’ relationships to agency and security in this context, social structural factors endure, such as social background and a white skin, to enable migrants to differentially mitigate the risks of precarity with efficacy.
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Because_I_am_a_Foreigner_Clean_Copy_020824
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Accepted/In Press date: 30 October 2024
Keywords:
Migration, China, English Language Teaching, whiteness
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 497392
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/497392
ISSN: 2364-4095
PURE UUID: 990f82bc-1caf-4376-a3da-f7b09cbf6be8
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Date deposited: 21 Jan 2025 18:08
Last modified: 22 Aug 2025 01:39
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Contributors
Editor:
Shanshan Lan
Editor:
Milos Debnar
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