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Social and Cultural Capital Across Borders: Exploring the Backgrounds and Aspirations of Vietnamese Students in Germany

Moritz, Christine (2025) COSM40 20251
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
This thesis investigates how Vietnamese students in Germany explain the reasons for their choice to study there. It draws on Bourdieu’s field theory, and analyses data from eight semi-structured interviews. It quickly became apparent that all the students interviewed had specific, pre-existing social and cultural capital related to Germany. In terms of outcomes, all are focussed on gaining a highly internationalized form of institutionalized cultural capital, as they view a German bachelor’s or master’s degree primarily as a vehicle for further international mobility and personal and career development, rather than necessarily seeking to remain in Germany or return to Vietnam after their studies. Through interviews related to the... (More)
This thesis investigates how Vietnamese students in Germany explain the reasons for their choice to study there. It draws on Bourdieu’s field theory, and analyses data from eight semi-structured interviews. It quickly became apparent that all the students interviewed had specific, pre-existing social and cultural capital related to Germany. In terms of outcomes, all are focussed on gaining a highly internationalized form of institutionalized cultural capital, as they view a German bachelor’s or master’s degree primarily as a vehicle for further international mobility and personal and career development, rather than necessarily seeking to remain in Germany or return to Vietnam after their studies. Through interviews related to the development of higher educational exchange between Germany and Vietnam, the study also highlights how existing social and institutional links between East Germany and Vietnam which developed prior to the 1990s continue to influence these processes by shaping the specific forms of embodied cultural capital, institutionalized cultural capital and social capital available to students. These insights add to the recent body of literature which seeks to extend Bourdieu’s concepts to the transnational activities of East Asian and other globally mobile elites (Marginson, 2007; Norén-Nilsson et. al., 2023). (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Moritz, Christine
supervisor
organization
course
COSM40 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Vietnam, Germany, Higher education, Social capital, Cultural capital, International student mobility
language
English
id
9229868
date added to LUP
2026-06-01 13:58:53
date last changed
2026-06-01 13:58:53
@misc{9229868,
  abstract     = {{This thesis investigates how Vietnamese students in Germany explain the reasons for their choice to study there. It draws on Bourdieu’s field theory, and analyses data from eight semi-structured interviews. It quickly became apparent that all the students interviewed had specific, pre-existing social and cultural capital related to Germany. In terms of outcomes, all are focussed on gaining a highly internationalized form of institutionalized cultural capital, as they view a German bachelor’s or master’s degree primarily as a vehicle for further international mobility and personal and career development, rather than necessarily seeking to remain in Germany or return to Vietnam after their studies. Through interviews related to the development of higher educational exchange between Germany and Vietnam, the study also highlights how existing social and institutional links between East Germany and Vietnam which developed prior to the 1990s continue to influence these processes by shaping the specific forms of embodied cultural capital, institutionalized cultural capital and social capital available to students. These insights add to the recent body of literature which seeks to extend Bourdieu’s concepts to the transnational activities of East Asian and other globally mobile elites (Marginson, 2007; Norén-Nilsson et. al., 2023).}},
  author       = {{Moritz, Christine}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Social and Cultural Capital Across Borders: Exploring the Backgrounds and Aspirations of Vietnamese Students in Germany}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}