Beyond the Discipline and Transition of Migration Studies in Human Geography--A Comparison between Taiwanese and Anglophonic Studies
Resource
地理學報, 43, 061-079
Journal
地理學報
Journal Issue
43
Pages
061-079
Date Issued
2006-03
Date
2006-03
Author(s)
Song, Y.L.
Abstract
This paper aims at investigating potential research issues, methodology and approaches in the area of migration studies. It also serves to expose Taiwan’s human geography studies to the international research community and to intrigue a comparison across the national borders. I first review the migration studies done by Taiwanese human geographers since late 1990s. Through the study of English journals and literatures of the past decade, a thorough retrospect of development and major issues since the 1980s, in population geography which is often referred to as the foundation of migration studies, is then attempted. Migration studies done in Taiwan are then compared to their Anglophonic counterparts. Consequently, we are able to distinguish the different research directions in different societal contexts and explore the possibility of dialogue between the two. In my analysis, migration studies of population geography in Anglophonic world have so far established the discipline as an interdisciplinary paradigm: its research focus and methodology transcend the disciplinary boundaries on the one hand and depict the relationship between population and natural environment and social issues on the other hand. In addition to the trend of accumulation and analysis of data on migration and dispersion at a macro-level, micro-level studies with cultural implications, such as the migrants’ identification of place, “self’, and “others”, or power-related subjects like “exclusiveness” and “boundaries”, are also popular. In regard to migrant types, modern population geography turns to studies of minority, minority of international migrants, communities with disadvantages, and females. Despite the growth of migration studies to cover the diversity of migration types, key issues and methodology, migration studies of population geography done in Taiwan still lean toward those fashioned in the 1970s and 1980s, a period which is characterized by low development in theories. By reviewing the development of Anglophonic human geography and other sub-disciplines, we conclude that migration studies can transcend the boundaries of academic disciplines, embrace issues that are related to the reality of society, use a diversity of methodology, and intensify in theories.
Subjects
移民
人口遷移研究
領域跨界
多元典範
人文地理學
Migrants
Migration studies
Inter-discipline
Multi-paradigm
Human geography
Type
journal article