Meng Li, associate professor of communication studies, was recently awarded a grant from the prestigious Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange to support her current book project titled: Family of Origin: How an American Idea Became a Chinese Social Ill. The book will examine the impacts of globalization and how knowledge systems relating to family, self-help, and therapeutic language can be conceptually transferred between communities and diffused through varying cultures through the help of social media, the internet, and the publishing industry.
“This grant from such a venerable international foundation gives credence to the importance of Meng’s research across borders and cultures,” said Bryant Keith Alexander, CFA dean. “The focus of this forthcoming book will challenge our sense and comforts of “family of origin” stories celebrating both heritage and cultural practices, as well as the perpetuation of belief systems that regulate human social engagement both within and outside the family.”
Her book specifically focuses on the emergence of the “family of origin” discourse in China. To give further context, family of origin refers to the family environment that an individual grows up in, which can be their biological family environment or adoptive family environment. Furthermore, family of origin has been shown to have profound impacts – both positive and negative – on the individual within family research studies.
Li shared her inspiration for the project as something close to her heart and intriguing as someone born in China but who has lived in the United States for numerous years. “In the past few years, the concept of family of origin has become a widely-debated topic in China. It’s an academic concept which was translated into Chinese and suddenly embraced by lots of people, particularly young people, as a way to discuss their family’s impact on their personal identities.”
Her research explores this darker aspect of family of origin, which includes toxic family relationships and the deeper-rooted effects of patriarchal culture and gender norms in the family. Family of origin can also be understood in the framework of social and personal justice within family relationships. “Family of origin discourse not only calls for healing from personal trauma but also calls into question the collective past in order to move toward a just future,” Li said.
“These ideas are very unconventional to a Chinese person because in Chinese culture and East Asian culture, family values are very important,” Li said. “Children are encouraged to practice filial piety and respect their parents without question, with family-centered ideas actively promoted by the government in recent years. So, this very idea that if you don’t like your family, you can then distance yourself from them and openly discuss how your family or parents may have hurt you or harmed you, while not a strange idea in the United States, is quite revolutionary in a Chinese context.”
Li hopes that she will be able to use her book in the classroom and as a source of exploration in teaching her students. She has noticed that students are really interested in global issues and how family relationships are practiced in different cultures, which makes this topic of particular interest. The relevance of the family of origin concept remains especially significant given the rise of self-help books and the influence of therapeutic culture on young people in today’s social climate.
In discussing how she hopes her book will impact her students, Li shared that “I want to encourage students to encounter different cultures in the context of a global phenomenon. I think they will gain a better understanding of their own family relationships, and also see the impact of globalization and how their experiences may be similar or different from people their age in a different cultural setting.”
