Looking into the Mirror of History: Educational Relations between the University of Minnesota and China (1914-2018)

Abstract

Over the past two decades, there has been an increase in educational programs across the globe. The U.S. has become the most popular destination country for international students among which Chinese students comprise the biggest proportion. In analyzing and studying contemporary situations about Chinese international students in the U.S., the influence of the historical context on institutional policies and students' experiences has been largely ignored. This study intends to fill this major gap. This study emphasizes the historical contexts of continuously and dramatically changing global circumstances and how they have influenced the discourses of educational exchanges between the U.S. and China. It focuses on the University of Minnesota as a case of U.S. institutions to explore how institutional efforts to engage international students have evolved over more than one hundred years from 1914 to 2018. It examines the economic, political, global, and cultural contexts during different historical stages and how those contextual factors have affected institutional commitments of U.S. universities on their educational exchanges with China.