Cultural Assimilation and Identity Among Chinese Migrants in Receiving and Sending Countries

This study explores the complex dynamics of cultural assimilation and identity formation among Chinese migrants in both receiving and sending countries. The main argument posits that while assimilation processes in host countries influence the preservation or transformation of cultural identity, the continued connection with sending countries also plays a critical role in shaping these identities. The research reveals variations in identity retention based on factors such as generation, social integration, and transnational ties. The theories include acculturation, transnationalism, and identity theory, which together offer a comprehensive framework to understand how Chinese migrants navigate and negotiate their cultural identities across different sociocultural contexts.

About the Speaker

AKM Ahsan Ullah is Associate Professor of Geography, Environment and Development at the University of Brunei Darussalam (UBD). His research areas include migration and mobilities, intercultural encounters and development, with a geographic focus on the Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Middle East, and theoretical focus on globalization and neoliberalism, development and human rights, transnationalism, gender, intersectionality and the everyday life. 

The ANU China Seminar Series is supported by the Australian Centre on China in the World at ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.