The influx of marriage migration and their children have reconstructed the monocultural ideologies of nationhood and membership in East Asia. This article examines how multiculturalism takes on unique forms in this region under the impact of geopolitical contexts, while also shaping the identity negotiation of second-generation youngsters at the micro level. Drawing on the case of Taiwan, I will discuss three variants of multiculturalism: geopolitical multiculturalism from above (Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy, implemented in 2016 to strengthen trade and diplomatic relations with ASEAN countries), neoliberal multiculturalism from below (how children of Southeast Asian immigrants mobilize their maternal heritage as a multicultural asset and ethnic dividends), and rescaling multiculturalism from below (how children of mainland Chinese immigrants rescale their ethnic identities to reconcile political tension across the Taiwan Strait). 

About the Speaker:

Pei-Chia Lan is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at National Taiwan University. Her major publications include Global Cinderellas: Migrant Domestics and Newly Rich Employers in Taiwan (Duke 2006, won a Distinguished Book Award from the Sex and Gender Section of the American Sociological Association and ICAS Book Prize: Best Study in Social Science from the International Convention of Asian Scholars) and Raising Global Families: Parenting, Immigration, and Class in Taiwan and the US (Stanford 2018).

Departmental Seminar - Geopolitical, Neoliberal, and Rescaling Multiculturalism: Southeast Asian and Chinese Second-Generation Children in Taiwan 

Date: 1 March, 2024

Time: 4:30PM – 6:00PM

Venue: CJT-9.29

Speaker: Prof. Pei-Chia Lan

Registration: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?ueid=92500