Crossing Borders, Advancing Scholarship

Spanning personal narratives and scholarly inquiry, this volume presents thirteen autobiographical accounts from sociologists of Chinese descent whose research is deeply informed by their lived experiences as immigrants or children and grandchildren of immigrants. This groundbreaking collection offers a rare and illuminating perspective on how migration shapes research trajectories, theoretical frameworks, and knowledge production.

Through these intimate reflections, contributors explore the methodological challenges of studying communities in which they occupy the dual position of insider and outsider. Their accounts reveal the intersections of personal history and professional development, highlighting the broader social and political contexts – spanning mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and migrant host societies such as the United States and Canada – that have influenced their careers. Crossing Borders, Advancing Scholarship offers both a methodological toolkit and a thought-provoking exploration of how diasporic lives shape scholarly work. It not only deepens our understanding of diasporic identity but also serves as an inspiring guide for emerging researchers navigating the complexities of academia and ethnic belonging.

Min Zhou is an elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies and Director of the Asia Pacific Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research interests include migration and development, race and ethnicity, the Chinese diaspora, and the sociology of Asia and Asian America, and she has published widely in these areas, including Chinatown (1992), Contemporary Chinese America (2009); The Asian American Achievement Paradox (2015), Contemporary Chinese Diasporas (2017), and Beyond Economic Migration (2023).