Self-cultivation and Self-awareness: Chinese Gen Z Studying in Australia

Abstract

Since the beginning of the new millennium, Confucian doctrines on one’s self-cultivation have been re-introduced to curriculum in China. The revived cherish of the Confucian legacy in the twenty-first century is a reverse from the official rejection of Confucianism in the Mao era (1950–1976). It also appears as a counterweight to the individualism proliferating among the Chinese youths born at the beginning of the new millennium (Gen Z). The re-introduction of Confucianism is thus ideologically purposeful. Yet how does the mixed exposure to Confucius’ legacy and the modern idea of self-awareness impact this cohort of young people, in particular their way of learning? This chapter focusses on Chinese Gen Z studying in Australia. Using the Bourdieuan theory of human habitus, this chapter examines how these students negotiate between the ideas of self-cultivation and self-awareness, and what implications such experiences have in an intercultural academic community.

Citation

Qian, F. and Liu, G.-q. (2021), "Self-cultivation and Self-awareness: Chinese Gen Z Studying in Australia", Kumar, M. and Welikala, T. (Ed.) Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: The Context of Being, Interculturality and New Knowledge Systems, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 109-121. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-006-820211007