Navigating History and Memory in China: Perspectives on the Recent Past from a Case Study of Chinese Students at an International High School

This study investigates how Chinese students at Global Academy, an international high school in the Shanghai/Suzhou region, understand their nation’s recent past as they prepare for university in the United States. Set against China’s intensified efforts to shape public memory through historical education, this research examines how young people actively construct their historical understanding when exposed to both official narratives and alternative sources. The study takes place in a unique educational context where students enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program experience education that emphasizes independent thinking, supported by unrestricted Internet access.Through twenty semi-structured interviews, students articulate historical narratives about major events from roughly the turn of the twentieth century to the present decade, then reflect on their sources of information. Five additional interviews with teachers offer further institutional context. This methodology explores two key questions: first, what do these students believe about major events in their country’s recent past; and, second, what sources inform their beliefs, and how does their thinking integrate school and non-school influences. This exploratory case study is designed to expand the conversation about how understanding of the recent past develops among Chinese young people, particularly a cohort whose entire education occurred under General Secretary Xi Jinping’s leadership. Among the key conclusions of this study are the observation that students express “narrative coexistence,” meaning they hold multiple narratives—official, unofficial, and vernacular—at the same time. Interviews also reveal a “sensitivity paradox,” as topics marked “sensitive” or taboo attract greater attention. Meanwhile, family, school, and online sources are especially powerful in shaping their beliefs. The findings have implications for understanding the relationship between official and unofficial accounts of the past. They also shed light on the opportunities and limitations of progressive schooling within a Chinese context to prepare students for undergraduate learning in the United States, where they represent the largest international undergraduate population.

Author dc:creator

• Hall, Jared

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Zimmerman, Jonathan

• Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Asian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
• Education

Language dc:language.iso

en

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/61861

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.upenn.edu:20.500.14332/61861