Presenting at The Australian Sociological Association November 2023 colloquium

TASA’s annual event was held in conjunction with the Council of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences Congress of HASS at the University of Sydney. A half-day postgraduate event was followed by two days of panel-based sessions and general paper sessions relevant to the TASA theme: Sustaining the Social.

The broad theme spoke of sociologies of class, ethnicity, Indigeneity; of body, disability, genders and sexualities; of inequality, health, education, regionality; of culture, religion, emotion; and of economy, technology, environment and activism. Sociologists from all sectors – urban, regional and remote – shared their research insights and connected their work to sustaining social cohesion. The book of abstracts showcased the breadth of subjects covered.

I was excited that my abstract (below) had been accepted for the section: Migration, Ethnicity, Multiculturalism. The day started for me with the keynote speaker, Dr Ash Watson, whose presentation, Telling Sociological Stories, was a refreshing way to anchor my own research on migration. It set the tone for the day as I listened to the many other sociological stories. The morning session was well-attended and followed with friendly questioning. Morning tea was an important time to network. Not knowing any of the other presenters, I willed myself to be brave and introduce myself to others.

My session was after lunch and, although my presentation went well, the speaker following me had technical difficulties cutting the time allocated for questions, which was a shame. However, some people found me in the break and it was interesting to hear their comments. I met my supervisor Christina Ho from UTS (below) and she introduced me to some of her colleagues and PhD and Masters students.

I did not attend the social events on offer, but I did get a sense of an academic conference. I held my own and presented an interesting excerpt of my research. I had not seen myself as an ‘academic’ before, more so as a teacher doing a Master of Research. However, presenting at the conference and engaging with other academics has given me the confidence to know my research is contributing to the understanding of our world and making a difference.

My TASA Abstract: “Australian migration stories are not only of people moving in search of a better life. For wealthy Asians, they may already have a good life in their home country. Their decision to park millions of dollars in Australia in exchange for residency fits the description by anthropologist Aihwa Ong of ‘Flexible Citizenship’. It is a practice pursued by a global economic elite of mobility and flexibility “in search of the greatest security and opportunity for their capital and families.” (Ong 2022). Flexible citizenship allows affluent Asians to make money in their home economies and at the same enjoy the “political security of sending their families to liberal economies.” (Ong 2022).

This way of life involves families that have the financial means to live in multiple countries; maintain two or more homes; frequently travel between these worlds; the ability to speak more than one language and the skills to navigate across cultures. My Masters work examines how these arrangements affect the children of these families. Parents choose this lifestyle ostensibly for the benefit of their family, but how do the uprooted, separated families fare? What do families lose in return for the gains of flexible citizenship?”