「我要出國去念社會學！」：近五年台灣申請者的道德生涯(2003-2007)

Abstract

筆者主要深入訪談15名近五年申請國外社會學研究所的台灣申請者，輔以訪談美國各大學教授和參與觀察台灣的留學講座，研究社會學申請者的道德生涯。本文將申請者道德生涯分為三個有規則順序的申請階段：第一階段為「申請前」，包括申請出國的考慮階段與留學測驗的階段；第二階段為「申請中的準備階段」，包含初步選校的階段和準備申請資料的階段；第三階段為「申請中的考驗階段」，分為等待申請結果的階段、面對整體申請結果的階段以及最後選擇的階段。本文欲透過申請者和其重要他/她人的不同說法，探討在這些有規則順序的申請階段中，申請者的個人自我如何轉變，而不同重要他/她人分別在不同的申請階段中如何與申請者互動，申請者判斷自我與其重要他/她人意象的架構又是如何轉變。尤其當申請者申請失敗時，他/她們如何自我安慰，而重要他/她人又如何安慰申請失敗者。

This study is based on the author’s depth interviews with fifteen Taiwanese applicants who want to study Sociology abroad. The author also interviews American professors in several universities and observes some lectures in Taiwan to research on the moral career of sociological applicants. There are three sequences of application phases. The first phase is pre-application, which includes the consideration phase and the examination phase. The second phase is the preparation of in-application, which consists of the preliminary choices phase and the supporting documents phase. The third phase is the test of in-application, which are the waiting phase, the confronting phase, and the final choices phase. The author analyses the accounts of applicants and their significant others to explore how the self of applicants changes in the sequences of phases. Besides, the author poses how the significant others interact with applicants and how the framework of which applicants judge self and the significant others transform. Especially for failure in applications, the study focuses on how applicants comfort themselves and how their significant others console them.