1st Edition

Return Migration of the Next Generations 21st Century Transnational Mobility

Edited By Robert B. Potter, Dennis Conway Copyright 2009
    264 Pages
    by Routledge

    264 Pages
    by Routledge

    There is renewed interest in return migration among researchers of global movement patterns. Until recently, it was overlooked, regarded as the result of failure by emigrants, or related to the return of retired, elderly migrants. This important study looks at the one-and-a-half and second generation migrants, the youthful contract workers and the 'prolonged sojourners' and the consequences of their return to source communities.

    Contents: Preface; Return of the next generations: transnational migration and development in the 21st century, Dennis Conway and Robert B. Potter. Part 1 Second-Generation Return Migrant Experiences: 'It was not quite what I had expected': some Samoan returnees' experiences of Samoa, Cluny Macpherson and La'avasa Macpherson; The ambivalence of return: 2nd-generation Tongan returnees, Helen Lee; The return of Japanese-Brazilian next-generations: their post-1980s experiences in Japan, Eunice Akemi Ishikawa; Bajan-Brit 2nd-generation return migration: '...where am I supposed to be - in mid air?!', Robert B. Potter and Joan Phillips; Emulating the homeland - engendering the nation: agency, belonging, identity and gender in 2nd-generation Greek-American return-migrant life stories, Anastasia Christou. Part 2 Young and Youthful Return Migrant Experiences: Back to Hong Kong: return migration or transnational sojourn?, David Ley and Audrey Kobayashi; Bittersweet home? Return migration and health work in Polynesia, John Connell; Returning youthful Trinidadian migrants: prolonged sojourners' transnational experiences, Dennis Conway, Robert B. Potter and Godfrey St. Bernard; Returning youthful nationals to Australia: brain gain or brain circulation?, Graeme Hugo. Part 3 Theoretical Generalizations: Return of the next generations: transnational mobilities, family demographics and experiences, multi-local spaces, Dennis Conway and Robert B. Potter; Index.

    Biography

    Dennis Conway, Indiana University, US and Robert B. Potter, University of Reading, UK.

    'This collection challenges the paradigms of migration studies by highlighting the role of second and one-and-a half generation return migrants. Their diverse experiences, from across the globe, introduce a vital new dimension into our understanding of the continuing dynamism and complexity of contemporary migration, with important implications for policy makers globally.' Mary Chamberlain, Oxford Brookes University, UK 'The task of bringing globally diverse material to bear on the compelling but overlooked topic of contemporary return migration is executed deftly by this collection of international scholars who articulate different theoretical and disciplinary persuasions in interpreting complex patterns of social change. The volume will be invaluable to those who care about the deepening transnationalisation of society and all this means for poverty, cultural change, geopolitics, and development.' Adrian Bailey, University of Leeds, UK