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Beyond the Dining Table: Reconfiguring Commensality in the Lives of Chinese Students in Sweden

Zhang, Bin LU (2025) SANM05 20251
Social Anthropology
Abstract
This thesis explores how Chinese students in Sweden navigate and reconfigure the practice of eating together in transnational and digital contexts. Drawing on the theoretical framework of commensality, community, and conviviality, it examines how students sustain shared eating practices amidst cultural differences, spatial constraints, and technological mediation. Through qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and analysis of interactions on social media platforms, the study reveals that communal eating takes both embodied and virtual forms. From group cooking to digital food sharing and WeChat-based coordination, students develop hybrid strategies of “fragmented togetherness” that blend intimacy... (More)
This thesis explores how Chinese students in Sweden navigate and reconfigure the practice of eating together in transnational and digital contexts. Drawing on the theoretical framework of commensality, community, and conviviality, it examines how students sustain shared eating practices amidst cultural differences, spatial constraints, and technological mediation. Through qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and analysis of interactions on social media platforms, the study reveals that communal eating takes both embodied and virtual forms. From group cooking to digital food sharing and WeChat-based coordination, students develop hybrid strategies of “fragmented togetherness” that blend intimacy and distance. Rather than seeing digital mediation as a loss of tradition, this research shows how platforms enable new modes of sociality and emotional anchoring. Rather than viewing digital mediation as a loss of tradition, the research demonstrates how online platforms enable new modes of sociality and emotional anchoring. At the same time, it situates digital interactions within the broader spectrum of embodied and relational eating practices, highlighting that students’ experiences of “eating together” encompass both face-to-face and digitally mediated encounters. In doing so, the thesis contributes to broader discussions on migration, food practices, and the evolving meaning of “eating together” in a globally connected world. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Zhang, Bin LU
supervisor
organization
course
SANM05 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Commensality, Chinese international students, Digital food practices, Community building, Conviviality, Social anthropology, WeChat, Xiaohongshu
language
English
id
9211209
date added to LUP
2025-09-04 09:36:13
date last changed
2025-09-04 09:36:13
@misc{9211209,
  abstract     = {{This thesis explores how Chinese students in Sweden navigate and reconfigure the practice of eating together in transnational and digital contexts. Drawing on the theoretical framework of commensality, community, and conviviality, it examines how students sustain shared eating practices amidst cultural differences, spatial constraints, and technological mediation. Through qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and analysis of interactions on social media platforms, the study reveals that communal eating takes both embodied and virtual forms. From group cooking to digital food sharing and WeChat-based coordination, students develop hybrid strategies of “fragmented togetherness” that blend intimacy and distance. Rather than seeing digital mediation as a loss of tradition, this research shows how platforms enable new modes of sociality and emotional anchoring. Rather than viewing digital mediation as a loss of tradition, the research demonstrates how online platforms enable new modes of sociality and emotional anchoring. At the same time, it situates digital interactions within the broader spectrum of embodied and relational eating practices, highlighting that students’ experiences of “eating together” encompass both face-to-face and digitally mediated encounters. In doing so, the thesis contributes to broader discussions on migration, food practices, and the evolving meaning of “eating together” in a globally connected world.}},
  author       = {{Zhang, Bin}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Beyond the Dining Table: Reconfiguring Commensality in the Lives of Chinese Students in Sweden}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}