Carolina Asia Center Tea & Talk Series: Dennis Yang: “The Pursuit of the Chinese Dream in America”

Join us for a discussion with Dennis Yang on his book The Pursuit of the Chinese Dream in America. This book illuminates the hopes, expectations, challenges, and aspirations of this generation of Chinese students as they pursue higher education at American universities. Based on interviews with Chinese students, parents, teachers, and educational agents in Shanghai, this ethnographic study examines the cultural, economic, and social factors that have fostered the increase of Chinese undergraduates on American campuses.

Dennis Yang is a Regional English Language Officer (RELO), currently serving as the Regional Program Officer for Africa. He started in the Foreign Service in July of 2016.  Dennis has taught English at various educational levels (K-12) and managed educational programs in China, Korea, and the United States. Before he started at the Department of State, he was the founding Associate Director of Boston University’s Gateway office in Beijing, China.  Dennis has also previously worked at the Walt Disney Company in Shanghai and Nanjing, serving as a Language Learning Director and Center Manager for Disney English.  Dennis earned his Ph.D in International Education from NYU, specializing in the Chinese educational system and Chinese students’ cultural, economic and social motivations for pursuing higher education at American universities.  He has also earned degrees at Columbia University (M.Ed. in International Educational Development), Duke University (M.A. in East Asian Studies), and Boston University (B.A. in Sociology).