Imaginative geographies of youth: negotiating precarities in higher education marketisation

Abstract

In a capitalist society, the marketisation of higher education is becoming increasingly prevalent. Inspired by Orientalism, this study analyses how various mediated representations, such as institutional advertisements, online newspapers, Instagram posts, and discursive communications, play an imperative role in reinforcing marketisation and shaping the imaginative geographies of self-financed associate degree students in Hong Kong. Through 40 in-depth interviews with students and key stakeholders, as well as media scrutiny and participant observations, this research sheds light on the creativity employed by these students to navigate and resist precarities and the positioning of “othering” embedded in their imaginative geographies and the complexities of everyday lives. It underscores the dual nature of precarities, from both top-down and bottom-up manners, and advocates for social recognition, caring support for self-financed students.