UCLA

This dissertation aims to explore whether, amidst the significant trend of social individualization, Chinese citizenship education can achieve its goal of cultivating the so-called ‘loyal socialist citizens’. Unlike citizenship education in Western democracies, which fosters constitutional patriotism, Chinese citizenship education seeks to transform the cultural spirit of collectivism among the Chinese populace into a political inclination towards communism and then to develop a socialist patriotism grounded in an ideological commitment to socialism and an institutional recognition on the Chinese party-state.A qualitative study was conducted through narrative interviews with twelve graduates from different elite Chinese universities. Interviews inquired about their perceptions of citizenship, the processes that have shaped their citizenship, and their perspectives on China’s dominant narrative. Compared to the theoretical framework of citizenship for constitutional patriotism, which is centered on civic participation, this study finds the framework of citizenship for socialist patriotism has stronger explanatory power to account for the trajectory of Chinese social transformations and the potential typology of socialist citizenship. Despite the pronounced diversity of political attitudes and ideologies stances, the data suggest that real-life experiences have a more substantial impact on shaping their citizenship than formal ideological courses within the university setting. Furthermore, this dissertation proposes a four-step process for citizenship-shaping, identifying the ‘suspicion moment’ as a crucial point for prompting one’s skepticism towards official discourse, transforming one’s ideological thinking, and motivating one to rationalize and deconstruct the grand narrative and begin the self-construction of a worldview. Meanwhile, a new form of individualism that maintains horizontal collectivism but rejects vertical collectivism is identified among these interviewees; it preserves the Confucian ethos of ‘the relational self’ and a communitarian concern for collective interests. However, it also emphasizes the importance of personal boundaries to resist authoritarian interference. In conclusion, the dissertation posits that the expansion of higher education in China can facilitate the demystification of socialist ideology among the youth. Nonetheless, due to stringent censorship and speech control, dissent must be cautiously concealed. This necessity results in unquantifiable psychological stress and unresolved mental tensions, contributing to more uncertainties inherent in China’s ongoing social transformations.