Since September 2024, the UChicago Center in Beijing has been supporting a participatory action research (PAR) project led by Yueran Zhang, an Assistant Professor of Sociology and the College. This project seeks to understand how queer-identifying college students in Beijing develop and transform their understanding of the self and the society over time. By treating research participants as collaborators rather than mere subjects, this project aims to generate self-reflexive knowledge that could concretely lead to a sense of empowerment among communities of queer youth in challenging times. As part of the research project, research participants meet regularly for community-building events, facilitated discussion, film screenings and conversations with queer activists. The Beijing Center has consistently provided meeting space and logistics support for the gatherings.
Articulating the Queer Self: Self-reflexive Knowledge Production with Queer-identifying College Students in Beijing
