Contradiction and Critical Consciousness: Engaging Canadian University Students in Racial Dialogue on Anti-Chinese Racism

This study examines how Canadian university students perceived and engaged with anti-Chinese racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on grounded theory and interviews and written reflections from 28 undergraduates at a predominantly White university, the study analyzes students’ contradictory understandings of racism shaped by media, national narratives, and prior educational experiences. Informed by Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, it conceptualizes these tensions as a contradictory racialized habitus, in which awareness and denial, empathy and distancing, coexist. Three themes emerged: contradictory orientations toward anti-Chinese racism, the transnational influence of U.S. political discourse, and the limited transformative impact of a social justice course. The findings show that while such courses can raise awareness, their effects are often partial and unstable. The study highlights the persistence of racialized dispositions and underscores the need for sustained, program-wide approaches to anti-racist education in higher education.