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Eating Belonging: Food Practices and Transnational Mobility Among Chinese International Students in Sweden

Xu, Chengji (2026) COSM40 20261
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Abstract
This thesis examines how Chinese international students in Lund, Sweden, rebuild a sense of belonging through eating practices when their expectations of life abroad fail to achieve. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with nine master's students and ethnographic participant observation of a Lantern Festival hotpot gathering, the thesis employs Antonsich`s Analytical framework of belonging as its principal analytical lens. The analysis part includes three steps. First, it will describe how Sweden serves as a destination for transnational migration for those seeking to escape the high pressure lifestyle in China and explore self-identity. Second, when Chinese students studying abroad are faced with the realities of life abroad, how does... (More)
This thesis examines how Chinese international students in Lund, Sweden, rebuild a sense of belonging through eating practices when their expectations of life abroad fail to achieve. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with nine master's students and ethnographic participant observation of a Lantern Festival hotpot gathering, the thesis employs Antonsich`s Analytical framework of belonging as its principal analytical lens. The analysis part includes three steps. First, it will describe how Sweden serves as a destination for transnational migration for those seeking to escape the high pressure lifestyle in China and explore self-identity. Second, when Chinese students studying abroad are faced with the realities of life abroad, how does everyday life and cross-cultural socialising lead to a sense of belonging falling short. Finally, when faced with this situation, how and why do Chinese international students choose eating as a means of restoring their sense of belonging. Eating, the thesis argues, is uniquely positioned to address this double failure because it simultaneously activates sensory, autobiographical and relational dimensions of place-belongingness while opening a micro-level space in which students temporarily reverse the power relations of belonging. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Xu, Chengji
supervisor
organization
course
COSM40 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Belonging, Chinese international students, eating practices, Sweden, transnational mobility
language
English
id
9243493
date added to LUP
2026-06-24 11:24:45
date last changed
2026-06-24 11:24:45
@misc{9243493,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines how Chinese international students in Lund, Sweden, rebuild a sense of belonging through eating practices when their expectations of life abroad fail to achieve. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with nine master's students and ethnographic participant observation of a Lantern Festival hotpot gathering, the thesis employs Antonsich`s Analytical framework of belonging as its principal analytical lens. The analysis part includes three steps. First, it will describe how Sweden serves as a destination for transnational migration for those seeking to escape the high pressure lifestyle in China and explore self-identity. Second, when Chinese students studying abroad are faced with the realities of life abroad, how does everyday life and cross-cultural socialising lead to a sense of belonging falling short. Finally, when faced with this situation, how and why do Chinese international students choose eating as a means of restoring their sense of belonging. Eating, the thesis argues, is uniquely positioned to address this double failure because it simultaneously activates sensory, autobiographical and relational dimensions of place-belongingness while opening a micro-level space in which students temporarily reverse the power relations of belonging.}},
  author       = {{Xu, Chengji}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Eating Belonging: Food Practices and Transnational Mobility Among Chinese International Students in Sweden}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}