“It Belongs to Us”: Chinese Youth’s Imagined Futures

Abstract

The imagined future of young people has become a significant area of research in sociology and youth studies, providing insights into youth identities, agency, and autonomy. In western academia, researchers have adopted a dual approach to exploring imagined futures, distinguishing between short-term, personal futures and long-term, societal futures (Cook, 2018; Leahy et al., 2010). This study strives to evaluate the applicability of the western frameworks in a distinctive social context. By examining the future imaginaries of 86 middle-class young people (aged 14-15) in three schools situated in Guangzhou, China, this study posits that there are four categories of future that these adolescents envision: (1) the temporary future; (2) the personal future; (3) the national future; and (4) the societal future. Based on a Bourdieusian analysis, these categories of future imaginaries can be attributed to the hybridity and complexity of Chinese youth’s habitus, field, and capital. Dominated by both western ideologies such as neoliberalism and individualism as well as indigenous philosophies like Confucianism and collectivism, these young people’s imagined futures exhibit diverse constructs, influences, and representations in contrast to those of their western counterparts, contingent on their unique living experiences and socio-cultural circumstances. This research deconstructs the entangled everyday experiences of Chinese youth, providing valuable data to decipher the factors driving the distinctiveness of their imagined futures. Furthermore, this research examines the applicability of western theories in a distinctive social setting, providing perspectives and tools for researchers to study Chinese youth. The practical implications which arise from the methodology of this thesis, centre around a revised adaptation of Pierre Bourdieu’s thinking tools, transforming young people’s imagined futures into processes of social practice rather than simple actions, thus manifesting Bourdieu’s advancement in social research.