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Zhang, S and Xu, L (2020) The making of transnational distinction: An embodied cultural perspective on Chinese women students’ mobility. British Journal of Sociology of Education. ISSN 0142-5692
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Abstract
Transnational distinction is highly relevant in an age when western degree inflation intersects with harsh gender expectations for Chinese women student migrants, a significant group of players in the scene of UK higher education. Drawing on participant observation and interview data and building on existing theories of cultural capital, this article explores how 25 Chinese women students constructed ‘transnational distinction’. Through investigating how newly acquired embodied cultural capital during mobility contributed to the construction of distinction, we argue such distinction is manifested through participants’ cognisance of field-specific rules. Their understanding of the complex racial/ethnic and class fabrics of the British society impelled them to be creative in constructing their distinction, particularly seeking diverse peer reference groups. This adds to the extant literature through demonstrating that purposeful comparison and connections can be made across home, host and other destinations, in the women students’ quest for transnational distinction.
Item Type: | Article |
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Additional Information: | The final accepted manuscript and all relevant information regarding this article can be found online at; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01425692.2020.1804836 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: | Bourdieu, cultural capital, Distinction, field, transnational mobility |
Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman > HQ1101 Women. Feminism H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races L Education > L Education (General) |
Divisions: | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Social, Political and Global Studies |
Depositing User: | Symplectic |
Date Deposited: | 28 Jul 2020 08:55 |
Last Modified: | 14 Mar 2022 01:30 |
URI: | https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/id/eprint/8433 |