The Experience Of Change:Pakistani Post-graduate Students In Shanghai Jiaotong University

This Research treats Pakistanis post-graduate students' diverse experience of change after moving from Pakistan to China.The research studies how students negotiate and hold together in new ways the diverse identities they experience.These changes have usually been described from sociological and psychological perspectives,seldom focusing on everyday life practices.This study attempts to fill that gap by studying student's everyday life from the point of view of anthropology.Over a period of six months,I have conducted ethnographic fieldwork among Pakistani post-graduate students in one of Shanghai most important engineering university,carrying out 30 interviews to map the changing dynamics of their daily lives.The thesis starts by examining the academic experience of students by focusing on the quality of education they receive there,research facilities and interaction with their supervisors.It then discusses these student's religious lives,focusing on how they practice their religion,issues concerning food and particular religious ceremonies,how they shape their national identity,and examines the role of the state-sponsored Pakistani Students Association.Thirdly,the study describes the relationships of students with their family and friends in their own country and their social network in China.All these elements are brought together to understand how students experience their present in China and how they think about their future.