A Case of Double Socialisation in the Social Sciences: The Experience of Chinese Researchers Trained in France

ABSTRACT: This article discusses the epistemological issues raised by the internationalisation of the social sciences as they affect the case of students from the People’s Republic of China who are trained in social sciences in France and return to pursue their career in higher education and research in China. The aim is to assess whether the epistemological differences between the two academic worlds may give rise to any professional difficulties in this many-sided scientific socialisation. Although our qualitative enquiry has revealed a number of differences, the problem of the availability of professional opportunities does not seem to have a distinctively epistemological dimension. KEYWORDS: internationalisation, social sciences, Chinese students, France, China, scientific socialisation, epistemology, higher education, research.