Eric de Roulet is a Liu Scholar and a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies program (Global Studies theme) at the University of British Columbia. He was also a fellow of the U.S.-based National Bureau for Asian Research (NBR) through its Chinese Language Fellowship Program, 2021-2022. Prior to commencing his doctoral studies, he earned a B.A. in Sociology and an M.A. in Linguistics, then taught English as a second language (ESL) at the university level in Liaoning Province in mainland China. Additionally, he participated in field research training in 2019 through the Mongolia Field School organized by the American Center for Mongolia Studies (ACMS). Eric’s dissertation research, supervised by Dr. Manfred Elfstrom, investigates the roles of agency and subjectification in prospective Chinese international graduate students’ academic career planning. In particular, this mixed-methods research analyzes how both PRC nationals and ethnic Chinese students from elsewhere perceive opportunities and obstacles in the domestic and international higher education markets, including the human security risks that come with studying abroad. Notably, by examining the experiences of prospective graduate students, this project avoids the survivorship bias built into numerous studies of the experiences of those who have already moved to their destination country. As a Liu scholar under the mentorship of Dr. Juliet Lu (School of Public Policy and Global Affairs; UBC Faculty of Forestry), Eric will assess the extent to which Chinese international scholars in the U.S. and allied countries are framed as potential security threats amidst the ongoing downturn in China-U.S. relations and rising Sinophobia.
Research interests: Academic and labor migration; the securitization of international academia and academics; Chinese diaspora experiences; modern Chinese history; social mobility and social fields; the production of international scholars and scholarship amidst the persistent Western hegemony over academic knowledge production.