Migration, China and Global Context

Joint Research Group of the Hong Kong Baptist University and the Max Weber Foundation

Description

The Max Weber Foundation and the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) have embarked on joint research collaboration since 2014. The objective of the collaboration is to contribute to the development of young scholars and academic knowledge in the areas of migration, China and the global context.

In the context of the surging Chinese population flows in the world, the research group focuses on the emerging Chinese migration and globalization in the Global South, and in Hong Kong where the cross-border relations with Mainland China have been complex and sometime tense. The research aims to understand how the emerging Chinese mobility and globalization patterns and development intersect with each other; what the dynamics of interactions of Chinese (new) migrants and the hosting societies, and their perceptions of each other are; how the Chinese migration experiences reflect social transformations back in the Chinese society; how these dynamics and experiences can be situated and linked with the theoretical discussions including ethnic and social boundaries and communities, stereotypes and identity, and social mobility/ class and power negotiations in migration studies. With these analyses, the research group aims to contribute to the general understanding of migration - whether Chinese migration is particular or shares universal characteristics with other forms of migration; and if the emerging Chinese populations flow would suggest new approaches for understanding and defining migration.

Project Members

A joint research group has been established and is led by Prof. Dr Sabine Dabringhaus (Professor, University of Freiburg and Prof. Ricardo Mak (Professor, HKBU). Its group members include Dr. Katy Lam (Post-doctoral Fellow), Ms Elaine Gao and Ms Caroline Schöpf (PhD students).