Danmei fandom is a subcultural community of young women in China. In the context of strict online censorship in China, they engage in the practices of writing, sharing, and reading Danmei fanfic, which is fan secondary works that focuses on the romantic relationship between male characters in media content and popular culture productions. This thesis proposes three research questions: 1) What kind of gendered exploration do female fans do through their participation in the reading and writing of Danmei fanfic? 2) How do fans engage in communication in the Danmei fandom online community? and 3) How do fans’ understanding of censorship guide their practices of circumventing censorship? This thesis uses textual poachers, subculture theory, and heterotopia theory to construct a theoretical framework to explore the subcultural practices of female Danmei fans and the tensions between Danmei subculture and mainstream ideology. To better understand Danmei fandom in a specific context, this project adopted the qualitative research methods of in-depth interviews and netnography to collect empirical data. This research discovers that Danmei fanfic can be a tool for female empowerment, providing a space for women to freely explore their sexuality and challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes. This creative space offers an alternative perspective that diverges from mainstream values and norms, allowing for resistance against dominant ideologies. However, Danmei fandom is connected to mainstream society in a broader ideological sense and reproduces hegemonic discourses and systems to some extent. Additionally, Danmei fandom not only makes diverse gender explorations, but also shows resistance to authoritarian censorship. By imagining the procedures and standards of censorship, they develop collective media use strategies and symbolic meaning systems to circumvent censorship. This thesis focuses on Chinese women’s daily leisure activities to understand female youth subcultures in Chinese contexts and broaden the understanding of slash fanfic in non-Western as well as non-English contexts.

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Statistical data on community colleges confirms how vast the community college institution is: Serving 46% of all undergraduates in the country, or 12.4 million students. A large body of literature exists on the specifics of social reproduction in four-year universities; as well as the specifics of social reproduction in racially and economically segregated high schools. However, there exists a blind spot in this literature when it comes to social reproduction at the community college. Through conducting interviews with students, faculty and staff at three local community colleges, this ethnographic study explores this theoretical and empirical blind spot by using a critical cultural studies perspective on social reproduction, asking questions around community college students’ experiences on three levels: students themselves, the institutional level through administration and governance; and, lastly, the communication strategy of the community college. Community colleges largely serve working class students, immigrants and older learners. They are the embodiment of the classic American dream that social mobility is possible through a democratic and public education system that allows anyone to ‘work their way up.’ On the other hand, they can work to funnel students too quickly into vocational tracks that foreclose the possibility of a higher-prestige, and higher-earning, bachelor’s degree. Community colleges straddle this tension between upward social mobility and class reproduction, as well as institutional tensions produced by needing to adapt to pervasive neoliberal logic. Student interviews highlight the ways their educational experiences are shaped by these tensions, given the community college’s unique structural education within higher education, and how these tensions can work to foreclose or open their future education possibilities. This thesis also explores the following themes: the community college’s positioning relative to public state schools and elite private schools; community college governance; workforce changes among faculty and staff and it’s effect on students; political implications of the community college education model; and, more broadly, understanding the place of public education in a wider neoliberal sociopolitical context.

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published_or_final_version / English Studies / Master / Master of Arts

The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of "individualistic" vs. "collective" cultural patterns on the distribution of attachment patterns. Participants were English-speaking Anglo-American (n=70), Hispanic (n=70), and Asian (n=60) females.

Guided by Ogbu's cultural-ecological model of human development, this comparative study offers a comprehensive and explicit way of conceptualizing and measuring parenting within the cultural context. Multiple hypotheses are generated for the cross-cultural comparison of parenting styles in Asian Americans and European Americans. The study uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health survey data collected from a nationally representative sample of adolescents from grades 7 to 11. Logistic regression, ordered logit, and OLS regression models are employed to analyze ethnicity effects on parenting characteristics and adolescent competencies separately, adding adolescent gender, age, and parent education level as statistical controls. This study explains why family-based and individual-based parenting styles are culturally appropriate for competence acquisition in Asian-American and European-American families respectively. Findings of this study suggest that Asian parenting is largely motivated by the welfare of the family rather than the individual's needs. This pattern is seen in the high emphasis on education, different parental control levels over various behavior domains, characteristics of parental warmth and school involvement, and the way parents approach their adolescents. Greatly influenced by their cultural values about competencies necessary for success, Asian-American parents apparently inculcate the sense of filial obligation in adolescents with an emphasis on school success. European-American parents, on the other hand, develop the quality of self-expression in adolescents with an emphasis on self-esteem. Family-based parenting may be more advantageous to academic and behavioral competencies while individual-based parenting is relatively more effective for psychological adjustments. However, adolescents from both groups score reasonably well over measures of all competence variables. Thus, they may be all considered competent within their cultural contexts, with their differences echoing the fundamental diversity between the two parenting styles. This study presents some challenges to the traditional way of understanding and judging Asian parenting. A more complete scientific understanding of Asian Parenting would be useful for explaining competence acquisition in Asian-American adolescents. / Graduation date: 2003

Existing research on multilingual acquisition indicates that multilingual learners confront challenges not only in mastering new linguistic forms, but also in forming new identities, and especially when the languages concerned are socially and linguistically distant. This study shows that ethnic minority students in China (referred in particular as ‘ethnic multilingual learners’ or EMLs in this study) at universities can face more challenges than the ethnic majority, Han, when they choose to study English as their major subject. The Han’s content and method in English learning are straitjacketed upon them. The environment is unfamiliar to EMLs, and the EMLs are often regarded as “strangers” to the place. Their problems include the national examination system, medium of instruction, learning difficulties, psychological issues and cultural exclusion. The current educational policies in China intend to protect the educational rights of ethnic minorities, but ignore the role of education in inheriting and capitalizing their ethnic cultures. The current university curricula mainly focus on subject knowledge building and patriotic education. As a result, the “cultural self-consciousness” and “cultural capital” of EMLs are less emphasized and encouraged. Data are collected on two female ethnic minority students at Yunnan University of Nationalities (YUN) through ethnographic interview, autobiography, oral narrative, online chatting and field observation. It provides information at a micro level, on how the two students, who have successfully navigated through Chinese education system to the tertiary level, try their best to excel in the education system of YUN with English language as their major subject and construct their multiple identities, and what important factors are affecting such identity construction. The findings suggest that they negotiate their multiple identities successfully through their active engagements on and off the university campus to become legitimate participants in various “communities of practice”. These identities are shaped partly by their own heritage and partly by the present sociopolitical realities in China. Drawing mainly on poststructuralist and multicultural education theories, the study also examines the power relationship exercised in YUN and discusses the impact of this power relationship on the identities formation of the target informants. The national and local policies as well as the curriculum structures of YUN are analyzed to identify the implicit power relationship that mainly causes tensions to the education and language learning of EMLs. It is argued that multiculturalism, as a discourse of education, may help to ease the tension between being an ethnic minority and a Chinese national, and reduce the danger of assimilation and marginalization of these EMLs. To achieve the goal of multilingual education based on the notion of multiculturalism, a “collaborative” power relationship which facilitates the empowerment rather than disempowerment of EMLs should be the goal in China according to the framework of “ethnic diversity within national unity”. It is envisaged that with such multicultural mentality, EMLs will be more able to act not only as manpower for raising productivity of the country, but also as agents for social transformation and in the end become citizens of the cosmopolitan world. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: An opportunity currently exists for retailers to develop store image strategies to target the female large-size apparel consumer market within the multicultural South African consumer society. This exploratory study set out to generate and describe retail store image attributes perceived as important to the female large-size apparel consumer within the South African context, as well as identifying differences and similarities in the perception of these attributes based on race and age group. The study also aimed to determine if the existing store image attribute groupings by Lindquist (1974-1975:31) is applicable when studying the female largesize apparel consumer. Focus groups were used as method of data collection in this study. The sample population (n=37) consisted of account holders who purchased apparel from a specific large-size apparel retail store during a specific time period. Three race groups, namely Africans, Coloureds, and Whites, as well as three age groups i.e. 20-29, 30-39, and 40-54 year age groups were included. Each focus group was homogenous in race and age composition. A facilitator conducted group discussions by following a focus group schedule. The first part of the discussion generated retail store image attributes deemed important by the focus group participants, followed by the rating of the perceived importance of these attributes using the Schutte Visual Scale. The second part of the discussion generated participants' description of Lindquist's nine identified store image attribute groupings, followed by the rating of the perceived importance of each of these attribute groupings using the Schutte Visual Scale. Transcriptions of all the focus group discussions were made. For the first part of the study the transcriptions were compiled into composite lists and refined based on Lindquist's nine attribute groupings. The aggregate ratings for each specific attribute and attribute grouping were calculated. For the second part of the study's results, the descriptions of each of Lindquist's nine attribute groupings was compiled into a single list of descriptive attributes. The aggregate ratings for each of these attributes groupings were calculated. Respondents perceived Merchandise and Clientele the most important attribute groupings in the analysis of all race and age groups, followed by Service, Post-transaction satisfaction, Promotion and Store atmosphere. Institutional factors and Physical facilities were perceived as the least important attribute groupings. No attributes relating to Convenience were generated. In the analysis of race and age groups, Merchandise and Service, followed by Store atmosphere, were perceived as the most important attribute groupings by most of the focus groups. The specific attributes generated by the different groups showed similarities, whereas the rating and definition of these attributes differed. Lindquist's descriptions of the nine attribute groupings were compared to the descriptions of the respondents. Similarities and differences were identified. Recommendations were made to refine and adapt Lindquist's attribute groupings and descriptions to develop a store image research framework that could be more applicable to the female large-size apparel consumer. This exploratory study provides some insight into the perceived importance of retail store image attributes by the female large-size apparel consumer, given the context of a multi-cultural South African society. Recommendations for future research were made and the implications for retailers were outlined. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar bestaan tans 'n geleentheid vir kleinhandelaars om 'n winkelbeeld strategie te ontwikkel wat gemik is op die vroulike groter figuur kledingverbruiker binne die multikulturele Suid- Afrikaanse verbruikersamelewing. Hierdie verkennende studie poog om kleinhandel winkelbeeldeienskappe wat deur die vroulike groter figuur kledingverbruiker binne die Suid- Afrikaanse konteks as belangrik beskou word, te genereer en te beskryf, sowel as om die verskille en ooreenkomste in persepsies van die belangrikheid van hierdie eienskappe tussen ras en ouderdomsgroep te identifiseer. Die studie het ook ten doeI om te bepaal of die bestaande winkelbeeldeienskap groeperinge, soos deur Lindquist (1974-1975:31) voorgestel, toepaslik is wanneer die vroulike groter figuur kledingverbruiker bestudeer word. Fokusgroepe is as metode van data-insameling gebruik. Die steekproef (n=37) was rekeninghouers wat aankope gedoen het by 'n bepaalde groter figuur kledingkleinhandelaar binne 'n spesifieke tydsperiode (n=37). Drie rassegroepe naamlik Swartes, Kleurlinge, en Blankes, sowel as drie ouderdomsgroepe te wete 20-29, 30-39, en 40-54-jariges is ingesluit. Elke fokusgroep was homogeen in ras- en ouderdomsamestelling. 'n Fasiliteerder het die fokusgroepbesprekings gevoer deur 'n fokusgroepskedule te volg. Die eerste deel van die bespreking het kleinhandel winkelbeeldeienskappe, wat deur die fokusgroepdeelnemers as belangrik beskou is, gegenereer. Dit is gevolg deur die meting van die respondente se persepsie van die belangrikheid van hierdie eienskappe met behulp van die Schutte Visuele Skaal. Die tweede deel van die bespreking het beskrywings van Lindquist se nege winkelbeeldeienskap groeperinge gegenereer en is gevolg deur die meting van respondente se persepsie van die belangrikheid van hierdie eienskap groeperinge met behulp van die Schutte Visuele Skaal. Transkripsies is van al die fokusgroepbesprekings gemaak. Vir die eerste deel van die studie is die transkripsies in lyste van spesifieke eienskappe saamgestel en georden volgens Lindquist se nege eienskap groeperinge. Die gemiddelde waarde vir elke spesifieke eienskap sowel as vir die eienskap groepering is bereken. Vir die tweede deel van die studie is beskrywings van elk van Lindquist se nege eienskap groepering saamgestel in 'n enkele lys van beskrywende eienskappe. Die gemiddelde waarde vir elk van hierdie eienskap groeperinge is bereken. Respondente beskou Goedere (Merchandise) en Kliëntebasis (Clientele) as die belangrikste eienskap groeperinge in 'n analise van alle ras- en ouderdomsgroepe, gevolg deur Diens (Service), Na-verkoop tevredenheid (Post-transaction satisfaction), Promosie (Promotion) en Winkelatmosfeer (Store atmosphere). Institusionele faktore (Institutional factors) en Fisiese fasiliteite (Physical facilities) is die minste belangrik. Geen eienskappe wat met Gerief (Convenience) verband hou, is gegenereer nie. In die analise van ras- en ouderdomsgroepe is Goedere en Diens, gevolg deur Winkelatmosfeer, as die belangrikste eienskap groeperinge beskou deur meeste van die fokusgroepe. Die spesifieke eienskappe wat deur die verskillende groepe gegenereer is, dui op ooreenkomste, terwyl die gemiddelde waarde en fokus van die eienskappe verskil. Lindquist se beskrywings van die nege eienskap groeperinge is vergelyk met die beskrywings van die respondente. Ooreenkomste en verskille is geïdentifiseer. Voorstelle is gemaak om Lindquist se eienskap groeperinge en beskrywings te verfyn en aan te pas ten einde 'n winkelbeeld navorsingsraamwerk te ontwikkel wat meer toepaslik is op die vroulike groter figuur kledingverbruiker. Hierdie verkennende studie bied insig in die vroulike groter figuur kledingverbruiker se persepsies van die belangrikheid van kleinhandel winkelbeeldeienskappe, gegewe die konteks van 'n multkulturele Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing. Aanbevelings vir verdere navorsing word gemaak en die implikasies vir kleinhandelaars is uitgewys.