sociology frenzy II

Race frenzy

Becky Francis and Louise Archer, "Negotiating the dichotomy of boffin and triad: British-Chinese pupils' constructions of 'laddism'," The Sociological Review, Vol. 53, No. 3, Aug 2005, pp. 495-521. a thought-provoking article about race, gender, and discourse.

ill-conceived stereotypes of the Chinese as collectivist, conformist, entrepreneurial, deferent, and conforming to Confucian values, and the Chinese pupils as uniformly ‘good pupils’.

"the discourses of ‘the good Chinese pupil’ and ‘Chinese value of education’ were frequently drawn on by pupil respondents [80 British-Chinese pupils, 48 girls and 32 boys from Years 10 and 11, i.e. 14-16 years old], with the result that the pupils often presented British-Chinese manifestations of ‘laddism’ as unnatural as 'infected' by 'others' and mild versions in comparison with pernicious ‘others’ [British]"

Given their "finding that teachers tend to stereotype British-Chinese boys as non-laddish, obedient, 'good pupils', Francis and Archer found that "a majority of teachers presented a dichotomous view of British-Chinese, being that the vast majority are seen as diligent and obedient, and as not expressing 'laddish' behaviours," which resonates with traditional, if not imagined, stereotypes of the Chinese in general, "except in a small minority of cases where 'bad' Chinese boys (often 'infected' by Anglo and African-Caribbean working-class boys) are frequently associated with Triadism."

Teachers tends to position British-Chinese as good pupils, but not ideal pupils, which derives from the dominant construction of the ideal pupils as active, questioning, challenging, and 'naturally brilliant'; traits which are ascribed as masculine and as white and middle-class. British-Chinese pupils, in a way, are positioned as feminised.

Francis and Archer found that "both teachers and some British-Chinese pupils saw 'laddish' British-Chinese boys as having been 'contaminated' by (working-class) white and black boys". "[S]ome teachers", Francis and Archer observed, "appeared to apply an orientalist view of the Chinese as a homogeneous mass uniformly conforming to industrious Eastern values and tyrannous family expectations".

If time allows, I would pick some of the references cited in the article below.

Ang, M. (2001) On Not Speaking Chinese: Living between Asia and the West, New York: Routledge.

Archer, L., (2002), 'It's easier that you're a girl and that you're Asian: interactions of 'race' and gender between researchers and participants' Feminist Review, 72: 108-132.

Archer, L. & Francis, B., (2005) ‘‘The never go off the rails like other ethnic groups’: Teachers’ constructions of British Chinese pupils’ gender identities and approaches to learning’, British Journal of Sociology of Education, Vol. 26, No. 2, Apr. 2005, pp. 165-182.

Chau, R. & Yu, S., (2001), ‘Social Exclusion of Chinese People in Britain’, Critical Social Policy, 21 (1): 103-125.

Francis, B. & Archer, L. (2005a) British-Chinese Pupils’ and Parents’ Constructions of the Value of Education, British Educational Research Journal, 31 (1) 89-107.

Song, M., (1997), ‘‘You’re Becoming More and More English’: investigating Chinese siblings’ cultural identities’, New Community, 23 (3): 343-362.