3. Transnational Citizenship
SUMMARY
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
