107 © Springer International Publishing AG 2018 Y. Ma, M.A. Garcia-Murillo (eds.), Understanding International Students from Asia in American Universities, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-60394-0_6 Chapter 6 Double Consciousness: How Pakistani Graduate Students Navigate Their Contested Identities in American Universities Maheen Haider Abstract This chapter uses the case of Pakistani graduate students to understand how international students in the U.S. comprehend and deal with discrimination in the host society, which can illuminate larger processes of othering, identity develop- ment, and contestation. Using qualitative interviews of 28 Pakistani graduate stu- dents (13 female and 15 male) studying in the U.S., I conceptualize the analytical strategies adopted by international students to deal with discrimination in the host culture. I use the DuBoisian notion of double consciousness to theorize how Pakistani graduate students see their religious and national identity from the host culture’s perspective. The students not only see their Muslim and Pakistani identity through their own eyes but also see these identities challenged within the context of the War on Terror, hence embodying a sense of double consciousness in the host society, and struggle constantly as they challenge and negotiate the negative con- structs surrounding them. Pakistani graduate students navigate within the constructs of terrorism when their religiosity and nationality are revealed to the dominant group. They negotiate these identities by having a deeper understanding of world- views on the War on Terror, enabling them to overcome and deal with the conflicting circumstances challenging their nationality and religiosity in the host culture. The U.S. is the top destination for tertiary-level education for international students from around the world (UNESCO 2014). However, after 9/11, from 2002 to 2006, for the frst time in three decades, the U.S. saw a consistent decline in the number of international students coming from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa (Bollag 2004; IIE 2004). Stringent immigration policies, cumbersome visa processes, national security issues (Campbell 2005; Urias and Yeakey 2005), heightened hostility, and prejudice toward international students all contributed to the plummeting M. Haider (*) Department of Sociology, Boston College, 410c McGuinn Hall, 140 Commonwealth Ave, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA e-mail: haider@bc.edu