Take me home
Chinese PhD-studenten in Leiden
Chinese students make up a substantial amount of international students in the Netherlands. In the academic year 2018-2019, China was the third highest country of origin for international students studying at Dutch universities. Leiden University is one of the destinations for these students, who travel the globe to receive education in the Netherlands.
This zone focuses on the objects that Chinese PhD-students living in the same student residence in Leiden brought with them and purchased in the Netherlands. These students spend roughly four years in the Netherlands, doing research in order to complete their doctorate degree. All PhD-students chose one object they brought from China and one they purchased in the Netherlands. What do these objects tell about their owners? Why did they bring them? Why did they purchase them?
In so doing, this zone explores the diverse range of objects found inside the homes of the PhD-students. After all, 'things - the objects, tools, and artifacts of everyday life - are the material expression of human experience.'