August 14, 2019

Associate Professor Elaine Ho’s (NUS Department of Geography) Citizens in Motion: Emigration, Immigration and Re-migration Across China’s Borders (Stanford University Press, 2019), was awarded the American Sociological Association’s “Best Book in Global and Transnational Sociology by an International Scholar” in 2019!

In Citizens in Motion, A/P Ho examines how state accounts and narratives of migration and citizenship in China, Canada, Singapore, and the China-Myanmar border compare to the actual experiences of identity and belonging expressed by migrants and non-migrants themselves. Through interviews and ethnographic observations, A/P Ho reveals insights into the challenges and opportunities facing nation-building and cultural diversity management mediated by the influences of migration processes.

The selection committee thought that A/P Ho’s book displayed impressive theoretical ambition that answers key questions in global and transnational sociology, including mobility and citizenship. Her book also stood out for its deep and careful attention to the complex temporal as well as spatial dynamics of migration. Importantly, the committee praised the book for setting a new standard for scholarship in migration and carefully showing how to historically situate and theorise emigration, immigration, and re-migration together as forces shaping contemporary citizenship.

Hearty congratulations to A/P Ho on this grand achievement!

Buy the book here.