Organizer:

David Ley
University of British Columbia
CANADA
davidley@unixg.ubc.ca

Description:

Transnationalism as a concept seeks to model an increasingly fluid world of movements of goods, capital, people and ideas across national borders. It invokes a world of cultural pluralism where material as well as emotional commitments transgress the boundaries of the nation state. Some see it as a model of 'flexible citizenship' where migrants are empowered by stretching their commitments over space to maximize their returns of financial and >cultural capital. The papers in this session interrogate the presuppositions of this transnational model while continuing to find value in the concept. They ask the following kinds of questions: How empowering is transnationalism? Does it imply partial citizenship at either/both ends of lines of material and emotional linkages? Does it encourage exploitation and other forms of disempowerment? How robust is the transnational family? How has policy facilitated transnationalism, and to what extent does it meet anticipated policy goals? Presenters will be reporting on research conducted in Germany, England, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, and New Zealand.

Presenters

Richard Bedford, University of Waikato, NEW ZEALAND
Birgit Brandt, University of Warwick, UNITED KINGDOM
Elsie Ho, University of Waikato, NEW ZEALAND
Audrey Kobayashi, Queen’s University, CANADA
Zig Layton-Henry, University of Warwick, UNITED KINGDOM
Eton Lawrence, Department of Canadian Heritage, CANADA (discussant)
David Ley, University of British Columbia, CANADA (chair)
Johanna Waters, University of British Columbia, CANADA
Yuen Pau Woo, Asia Pacific Foundation, CANADA (invited)
Brenda Yeoh, National University of Singapore, SINGAPORE

Schedule of Workshop