[ONLINE lecture] June 19 (10am, CET)/16:00 (SGT) “The Insecure Migrant Middle in Singapore: Research insights on migrant professionals, immigrant teachers, and immigrant parents” by Dr. Peidong Yang (National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
Dear members,
We are organizing our second lecture as a part of Research Forum =E2=80=9CDiversifying Immigrant Societies in (East) Asia=E2=80=9D by the In= stitute of East Asian Studies (IN-EAST) in the University of Duisburg-Essen. This forum is co-organized with collaborative research project QuaMaFA (Qualification and Skill in the Migration =C2=ADProcess of Foreign Workers in Asia) funded by = the Federal Ministry of Education and Research Germany (BMBF). Dr. Yang will give a talk entitled =E2=80=9CThe Insecure Migrant Middle in Singapore: Res= earch insights on migrant professionals, immigrant teachers, and immigrant parents=E2=80=9D on 19th June 2024, 10 (am/CET) / 16:00 (SGT) ONLINE.
You can join this lecture via Zoom (registration): https://uni-due.zoom-x.de/meeting/register/u5woceuqqD8jGdI1zCGzbmJxIvXKR4WV= KlaH
Look forward to seeing you all online!
Abstract
A small city-state with a highly developed economy strategically situated in Southeast Asia, Singapore is a major hub for migration/mobility in the Asia-Pacific region and has one of highest non-resident-to-resident population ratios in the world. While migration research has long noted that Singapore has a bifurcated foreign labour-immigration regime favouring the highly-educated/skilled migrants, more recent research seems to suggest that even the well-educated, professional, middle-class migrants are not exempted from insecurity and precarity under Singapore=E2=80=99s tightening immigration regime since the late 2000s and early 2010s. This talk draws on several strands of migrant-focused research that emerged within the past decade in Singapore, specifically offering insights from published and ongoing research (including several of the author=E2=80=99s own projects) a= bout the settlement and integration experiences of migrant professionals (from Chinese and Indian backgrounds), immigrant-background teachers in mainstreams schools, and immigrant parents whose children go to government schools. It is argued that a common theme characterizing the experience of these diverse =E2=80=9Cmigrant middle=E2=80=9D groups in Singapore is a sen= se of insecurity resulting from increasing difficulties of obtaining a permanent foothold (permanent residency/citizenship) in the country. The paper also sheds light on how feelings of uncertainty, anxiety and precarity manifest in realms such as work and children=E2=80=99s education for these =E2=80=9Cins= ecure=E2=80=9D migrant middle in Singapore.
Bio
Peidong Yang (DPhil, Oxford) is an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. A sociologist of education, Peidong=E2=80=99s research concerns the intersect= ions between education and migration/mobility. He is the author of International Mobility and Educational Desire: Chinese Foreign Talent Students in Singapore (2016) and numerous journal articles on topics including international student mobility, identity, integration, and social studies education. www.peidongyang.com
This event is partially funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and co-organized with the IN-EAST.
Dr. Aimi Muranaka (=E6=9D=91=E4=B8=AD =E3=81=82=E3=81=84=E3=81=BF=EF=BC=89 Post-doc/ Research Associate Institute of East Asian Studies, University of Duisburg-Essen Tel (Germany): +49 203 379-2166 Research project website: https://quamafa.de Latest publications: Muranaka, Aimi (2024): "Being a Foreigner During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Researcher Positionality in Online Interviews". Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-25.1.4075 Muranaka, Aimi (2023): "'Framing' and 'Packaging' of Foreign Skilled Workers: Diversity of the Intermediary Actors in the Cross-Border Labour Market Between Japan and Vietnam". Globalizations. DOI: 10.1080/14747731.2023.2165376 Tran, Huy An and Aimi Muranaka (2022): "Editorial - Transnational Flows of Contemporary Asia: Trends and Futures". The German Journal on Contemporary Asia. 162/163: 7-14. Muranaka, Aimi (2022): "Brokerage in the cross-border labour market: Recruitment and training of Vietnamese IT workers by Japanese temporary staffing firms". Asian Studies Review. 46(4): 578-596. DOI: 10.1080/10357823.2022.2093836
