Students’ Reparticularization of Chinese Language and Culture at the University of Rwanda Confucius Institute

Abstract

This article examines the reparticularization of Chinese language and culture in a teaching-learning context at the University of Rwanda. It critiques models of dissemination that suggest direct inscription of semiotic value onto local contexts of use. Ethnographically, the article demonstrates that students’ uptake of what their teachers deem real or authentic is in fact a metapragmatic reconstrual of teachers’ lexemic tokens “real” and “original” that teachers enact in their teaching activities. Students’ reconstrual incrementally alters teachers’ sign values and links their users to one other. Students’ reparticularized sign values, in turn, link their users to distinct activity routines beyond learning Chinese and kung fu in the classroom. The article argues that language and kung fu classes for students are one phase segment of larger sets of activities students undertake to become competitive in a challenging job market.