Seeing Africans in China: Defining Race and Racial Hierarchy in Contemporary China

Author

Xuemeng Li, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

9-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Sociology

Advisor

Erica Chito Childs

Advisor

Jessica Halliday Hardie

Committee Members

Margaret Chin

Onoso Imoagene

Subject Categories

Race and Ethnicity

Keywords

Race, Racial Hierarchy, Contemporary China, Africans in China, Chineseness, Blackness, Whiteness

Abstract

As China becomes a global player and an economic great power, what Chinese people think of race and racism matters to the racial order. At an everyday level, as Chinese immigration is observed in most parts of the world, the foreign population is also entering China through work, business, and international marriages. This study focuses on Blackness in China in relation to the spread of Whiteness and the redefining of Chineseness. China’s thorough cooperation with African countries since the 2000 FOCAC meeting increased the connections between China and Africa at the economic level. The people migrated to each other’s lands for investments or studies. With the presence of Africans in China, especially Black Africans, who are more visible because of their skin color, racism has become a social problem of contemporary Chinese society that cannot be overlooked, given China’s influence on the world system. Starting with uncovering the images of Africans in China in the eyes of Chinese people, this study explores the attitudes and opinions Chinese locals hold toward Africans in China. This study uses mixed methods. In-depth interviews, surveys, and media analysis with data scraping techniques are the principal tools for data collection, and the results from each method are presented in three separate chapters. Eventually, three different methods emerge in the conclusion chapter to reveal how Chinese people view Africans in China and Blackness using Foucault's theories on disciplinary power and racism against the “Abnormal.”

Recommended Citation

Li, Xuemeng, "Seeing Africans in China: Defining Race and Racial Hierarchy in Contemporary China" (2023). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5567