The internationalization of faculty life in China

This article examines one of China's top universities - Renmin University - and changes in faculty life linked to internationalization and the push to build world-class universities. Employing academic culture as a theoretical lens and case-study methodology, the authors highlight several significant changes, as described in semi-structured interviews with 27 Renmin faculty members. Some changes discussed include increasing reliance on international standards of scholarship, greater emphasis on faculty acquiring international experience, increased collaborations with foreign scholars and organizations, and the adoption of various pedagogical and curricular facets associated with Western universities. Serious attention is given to concerns raised by several Renmin faculty members apprehensive of certain forms of internationalization and concerned about the likelihood of Chinese universities becoming colonized by Western norms and methodologies.