On 9^th June 2022, the recipients of DHSS Student Research Grants presented papers and posters on the outcomes of their projects so far.

There were three sessions of papers. The first session dealt with aspects of virtual and computer-mediated interactions, from fansub translation and gender affiliation in computer games to the efficacy of dating apps.

(ATS Wang Chun - Norms in Game Localization of Fansub Translation )

(MCOM WANG Yushan & WU Kunchi- “Form a Real Me”: Chinese Youth’s Self-Construction and Social Identity in the Online Games Community)

(PRA WEI Yongzhi, Do Dating Apps Really Work? The Interrelationships between University Students’ Dating App Use, Their Personality, and Perceived Loneliness — Mainland China Based)

The second session focused on life and education in contemporary China, covering the emergence of the food delivery driver as a key pillar of the post-pandemic gig economy, attitudes to bilingual kindergarten schooling among parents and primary teachers, and the shifting identity of Joseanjok migrants in China.

(GAD CHEN Chaofan, The Food (Take-Away) Delivery Personnel: An Emerging Job in China)

(ELLS HUANG Jingyuan, Native Language-Orientated Primary School Teachers’ and Parents’ Attitudes toward Bilingual Kindergartens)

(Professor Simon Zhao, Associate Dean of DHSS, asking questions and making comments)

The final session addressed the impact of COVID-19 on global leadership and on attitudes to mask-wearing across different cultures; these papers showcased two topics that will reappear in a scholarly collection of papers on COVID-19, to which DHSS undergraduates at UIC will make a strong contribution.

(GAD CHEN Chaofan & CHEN Jiawei, How the Pandemic Affects Global Leadership: A Comparative Analysis of the G2)

(MCOM WANG Yushan, Body Politics and the Collective Well-Being: A Comparative Study of the Cultural Motives of Mask-Wearing during COVID-19)

A display of posters likewise exhibited the diversity of research undertaken by DHSS undergraduates: empirical studies of students’ knowledge of technological content, and of the acquisition of irregular verbs by learners of English; a discussion of masculinities in the fiction of JM Barrie, the Scottish author of Peter Pan; an analysis of the myth of Thanatos in the work of Freud, Beckett and Camus; and an analysis of global economic trends.

(Professor John Corbett, Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning, giving his opening remarks)

In his closing speech, Professor Simon Zhao, Associate Dean for Research, praised the quality of the papers, which demonstrated that, given the opportunity and appropriate mentorship, undergraduates can contribute to our understanding of many topics that are vitally relevant to the development of China today. He hoped that this pioneering set of awards to empower undergraduate research in DHSS would be the first of many such initiatives at UIC.

(Professor Simon Zhao, Associate Dean for Research, giving his closing speech)

From: English Language and Literature Studies Programme