Study Of German Image Under Different Types Of Knowledge Structure

As globalization is an inevitable trend,cultural exchanges between countries and areas are becoming more frequent.Opportunities for teenagers' participation in such cultural exchange programs are also increasing.Such trend is gaining popularity in recent years as displayed whether in large-scale official conventions between states,or student exchange programs held by non-governmental organizations,as well as academic visits between partner schools.During the German Chancellor's visit to China in October 2015,Merkel highlight the significance of exchange programs among teenagers by setting 2016 as the "Year of Sino-German Youth Exchange".Against this backdrop,this thesis addresses the image of Germany among Chinese students,and analyses how this German image is constructed and shaped by their exchange experience in Germany.One's image of Germany is not solely based on his impression of the country.It also includes his understanding and attitude towards this country.The image of Germany is such a complex that different theories give different results on different dimensions.Meanwhile,a person's impression towards a country,which is closely associated with his personal experience,is also under constant change.This thesis draws on the interviews of ten exchange students and attempts to analyze their construction of the image of Germany.The interviews are conducted in five dimensions--people,product,government,culture and tourism.To be specific,this thesis delves into the following issues:1)How the image of Germany is precisely constructed;2)How the interviewees express with varied types of knowledge structures;3)How the interviewees are influenced by their exchange experience in terms of construction of a German image and their knowledge structure.Centering on the above three issues,this thesis starts with the introduction of the process and feature of different exchange programs;it goes on to expound the structure and feature of a national image as well as the German image,and compares the gains and losses between knowledge structure and fixed stereotypes when they are both used on the analysis of issues concerned here.Ten interviewees with different cultural exchange backgrounds are selected and separated into two groups-one with exchange experience in Germany and the other without.They are of different ages and from different educational background so as to be recognized as diversified samples.The interview is carried out in a semi-open way which consists of three parts.The first is a recount of the interviewee's exchange experience in Germany;the second is a Q&A session in which the interviewee is allowed to answer the questions selectively;the last is when the interviewee makes supplementary comments on his words and ideas before,or presents a conclusive statement on his image of Germany.They are encouraged to speak with free mind and personal experience.This thesis concludes with the following four findings:1)By combining common sense and their own experience,the interviewees who do have exchange experience in Germany are more inclined to present analytical statements which in many cases are at odds with the mainstream impressions.2)When personal experience and common sense confront each other,most of the interviewees choose to side with his own experience,leaving the original impressions in disbelief.3)The interviewees who have not exchange experience in Germany are more inclined to borrow wits from the classics to construct their image of Germany,though not always without doubt.4)In a discussion of the German image,the most resorted types of knowledge structures are "impression" and "aphorism".In general,the national image of Germany as a country among the interviewees is positive.In comparison with the past and present scholarship in this field,this thesis combines the student exchange programs with the knowledge structure type of the German image in an organic whole.It analyzes the content and structure of the German image among the Chinese students.This thesis is inadequate in the way that it lacks a diachronic study on the forming process of the German image.In the last chapter of this thesis-"Research and Prospect",a better devised research method is proposed,in the hope that contribution is made to this research in any possible form.