Zihuan (Sebastian) Zhang

Thesis title: Racism in China: a qualitative study on Shanghai-based foreign English language teachers.

This PhD project investigates Black racial experiences in China by conducting a qualitative study in the foreign English teachers community in Shanghai. The research will synthesise several theoretical and conceptual frameworks, such as Critical Race Theory, Post-colonialism, Everyday Racism and Decolonial Social Theory to explore the lives of Black English teachers, investigating how racism manifests itself in social relations and interactions on a daily basis in contemporary China.

Also, the project will be examining English language education as a colonial instrument in forging transnational forms of racism as a colonial legacy existing in contemporary Chinese society.

Research interests:

• Decolonial Social Theory;
• Post-colonialism;
• Sociology of Race and Racism;
• Contemporary China Studies;
• Critical Race Theory;
• Qualitative Methods.