Caught in the middle? Chinese international students’ self-formation amid politics and pandemic

With neo-nationalism spreading in both China and the US as well as the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese international undergraduate students are perceived as in-between: racialized in their host country and labeled as out-group members in their home country. In both contexts, their voices are constantly marginalized and silenced. Drawing upon the concept of self-formation, this article uses an ethical paradigm to emphasize students’ self-determining agency and capability in the process of personal transformation. Based on online observation and semistructured Zoom interviews, this study demonstrates that Chinese students tend to live and study resiliently amid current heightened uncertainties. More importantly, they actively exercise independent autonomy to facilitate plural identities, albeit under social circumstances beyond their control. Instead of being caught in the middle as framed by dominant discourses, this study shows that Chinese students’ decisions about study abroad, choices about social adaptation, and career ambition are deliberate and conscious, confronting ever-changing social, cultural, political, and economic conditions.