Seeking the Common Dreams between the Worlds

Stories of Chinese Immigrant Faculty in North American Higher Education

Edited by:
Yan Wang, University of Macau
Yali Zhao, Georgia State University

Published 2013

This is the first book that probes the lived experiences of Chinese immigrant faculty in North American higher education institutions: their struggles, challenges, successes, etc. It explores how their past experiences in China have shaped who they are now, what they do and how they pursue their teaching, research, and service, as well as the reality of their everyday life that inevitably intertwines with their present and past diverse cultural backgrounds and unique experiences.

Different from previous books that explore immigrant/minority faculty defined ambiguously and broadly and from the theoretical framework of ethnic relations, this book has a particular focus on mainland Chinese immigrant faculty, which offers a richer and deeper understanding of their cross-culture experiences through autoethnographic research and by multiple lenses. Through authors’ vivid portray of the ebbs and flows of their life in the academe, readers will gain an enjoyable and holistic knowledge of the cultural, political, linguistic, scholarly, and personal issues contemporary Chinese immigrant faculty encounter as they cross the border of multiple worlds.

All contributors to this book had the experience of being the first-generation Chinese immigrants, and they either are currently teaching or used to teach in North American higher education institutions, who were born, brought up, educated in Mainland China and came to North America for graduate degrees from early 1980s to 2000.

CONTENTS
Preface. Acknowledgements. List of Contributors. Introduction: Reseeking Dreams and the Lived Experience of Chinese Immigrant Faculty, Yan Wang and Yali Zhao. PART I: REFLECTION ON TEACHING AND LEARNING. Walking Between Two Worlds: My Cross-Cultural Experience in Academia, Hong Wang. Sweet Potatoes: A Great Education by Accident, Yong Zhao. PART II: REVELATION IN TWO WORLDS. A Journey of Self-Discovery: From China to the United States, Tiantian Zheng. A Professor’s Revelation: From China to the United States, Linda Wang. Discovering the Third History in America: From “Self History” to “Other History” and the “Grand History”, Chuxiong Wei. PART III: BUILDING CULTURAL BRIDGES. Straddling Multiple Culture Worlds and Promoting Cross-Cultural Understanding as a Social Science Educator, Yali Zhao. A Personal Journey of Cultural Evolution and Professional Transformation, Binbin Jiang. PART IV: MOVING FORWARD STEADFAST AND UNDAUNTEDLY. Overcoming Roadblocks on My Cross-Cultural Journey, Lin Lin. A Journey Across the Nations to Make a Life, Ronghua Ouyang. PART V: RETURNING TO THE ROOTS. Longing, Seeking, and Learning: A Voyage of Departure and Return, Yan Wang. An Almost Circular Journey, Qin Jin (Junda Lin). Multiple Paths and Common Dreams: Chinese Immigrant Faculty in North America, Yan Wang and Yali Zhao