What is it about?
By interviewing 86 international students and working professionals in Singapore, I show that these temporary or transient migrants use their self-perceived identities as a strategy to feel a sense of belonging and 'home' overseas.
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Why is it important?
In this paper I break away from conventional wisdom that being a temporary or transient migrant disrupts one's life course. Instead I argue that being a temporary migrant is really part of that person's evolving life course.
Perspectives
I really enjoyed talking to my respondents because they showed me how resilient they are and how they found ways to make living away from family, friends and the familiar work for them. I think too often we think that people living overseas on temporary visas are victims and vulnerable. While I don't doubt this is true in many cases and in different degrees, we need to acknowledge that people really do make the best of their situations.
Catherine Gomes
RMIT University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Identity as a strategy for negotiating everyday life in transience: A case study of Asian foreign talent in Singapore, Current Sociology, September 2018, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0011392118792929.
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