Continuing Faculty
Afsoun Afsahi
Afsoun Afsahi
Assistant Professor
emailafsoun.afsahi@ubc.ca
I am interested in exploring the ways in which discourses around “welcoming immigrant and refugees” can be seen as an exercise of power and contribute to the reproduction of positional inequalities. In doing so, I aim at formulating a right to non-assimilation and right to one’s own community...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Citizenship | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Integration and Inclusion | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and Decolonization | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Political Science
Alessandra Santos
My current research project addresses dislocations in the Latin American and Caribbean region in a hemispheric context, probing contemporary geographical, cultural and subjective displacements that occur due to economic globalization, new forms of cultural encounters, and conflicts arising from thes...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
Theatre & Film
ON LEAVE
Until June 2025
Alexia Bloch
My work has focused on mobility/immobility studies through ethnographic research in Russia and Eurasia. I have conducted research on migration, anthropology of gender, and statelessness. I have also analyzed the migration of post-Soviet labor migrants moving between Istanbul, Moscow, and southern Mo...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Anthropology
Alice Te Punga Somerville
Alice Te Punga Somerville
Professor
As a Māori scholar, my interest has been in the mobility of Māori people around New Zealand and transnationally. I have researched and published in the area of Māori diasporas in several sites with a particular interest in how conversations about Indigenous diaspora can draw on work about settler...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | History of Migration | Indigenous Studies | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Continuing Faculty
Alison Taylor
Alison Taylor
Professor
emailalison.taylor@ubc.ca
My current research examines the experiences of working university students including international students. My past research studies have addressed temporary foreign workers in nursing and trades in Canada.
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Educational Studies
Alison Taylor
I am currently leading a SSHRC-funded study on working university students, a number of whom are international students. We are employing two international students as RAs (also part of the WorkLearn program) in this study. I am also very interested in community-university partnerships and my previo...Read more
Thematic Research Area
School-to-Work TransitionGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Educational Studies
Amanda Cheong
Amanda Cheong
Assistant Professor
emailamanda.cheong@ubc.ca
I am an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia. My research examines the links between legal status and the reproduction of inequality, with a focus on undocumented migrants, stateless persons, and refugees. I am currently working on my book project, entitled Omitted...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Citizenship | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced Migration | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Sociology
Anna Casas Aguilar
I am an Assistant Professor of Hispanic Studies in the Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies at the University of British Columbia.
My work explores the intimate connections between gender, nationalisms, and regionalisms in modern Spanish and Catalan literature and visual cultur...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies
Anna Jurkevics
My research is in the fields of critical theory and democratic theory. I am particularly interested in theories of territory and land, conceptions of home, and my work challenges the concept of sovereign territoriality, suggesting a non-sovereign approach to territory and borders.
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Political Science
Annamma Joy
Annamma Joy
Professor
emailannamma.joy@ubc.ca
I am a full professor in the Faculty of Management at UBCO and have worked on ethnic identity and acculturation to Canada among immigrants from India, Portugal, and Italy. More recently, I have been examining the use and understanding of emergent technologies in the art world and how immigrants from...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
Management
Anne Murphy
My work centres on the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, and Punjabi diaspora communities. My current research relates to advocacy for the Punjabi language both in South Asia and within diaspora Punjabi communities, with particular attention to literary/cultural production in Punjabi in these loc...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
History
Annie Wan
Annie Wan
Associate Professor
emailannie.wan@ubc.ca
A XR researcher for well-being and for social good, and a XR developer, innovator in the field. Her latest research involves building a VR, OpenAI’s virtual health-assisted application which trains and prepares Alzheimer's caregivers. While another project studied an Asian heritage in Hong Kong, K...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Aged Migrants | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Health and Diaspora | Health and Migration | Integration and Inclusion | Migration and healthcare | Overseas Chinese | Refugees and Forced MigrationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Creative Studies
Antje Ellermann
Antje Ellermann
Professor | CMS Co-Director
phone(604) 822-4359
location_onDepartment of Political Science
My research focuses on the politics of migration and citizenship in liberal democracies. I am particularly interested in the nexus between immigration and the power of the law; the politics of immigration policy making; anti-immigration populism; and the intersection of migration, settler colonialis...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Immigration Politics and Policy | Indigenous Studies | Integration and Inclusion | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Settler Colonialism and Decolonization | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Political Science
Anusha Kassan
Anusha Kassan
Associate Professor
emailanusha.kassan@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Children and Migration | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Health and Diaspora | Health and Migration | Immigrant Services | Immigrant Youth | Integration and Inclusion | International Students | Migration and healthcare | Migration and Race | Migration Policy and Politics | Public Opinion | Refugees and Forced Migration | School-to-Work Transition | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationI am the Founder of the Vividhatà Research Group. Vividhatà (વિવિધતા) is the Guajarati word for diversity. Gujarat is the city in Indian where my paternal grand parents were born and the common language spoken there is Guajarati. My family has a fascinating immigration history, which...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Children and Migration | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Health and Diaspora | Health and Migration | Immigrant Services | Immigrant Youth | Integration and Inclusion | International Students | Migration and healthcare | Migration and Race | Migration Policy and Politics | Public Opinion | Refugees and Forced Migration | School-to-Work Transition | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Continuing Faculty
Aryan Karimi
Aryan Karimi
Assistant Professor
emailaryan.karimi@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Integration and Inclusion | Migration and Race | Refugees and Forced MigrationThematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Integration and Inclusion | Migration and Race | Refugees and Forced MigrationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Sociology
Asha Kaushal
Asha Kaushal
Associate Professor
phone(604) 822-3905
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Immigration and Refugee Law | SovereigntyProfessor Kaushal researches and teaches immigration and citizenship law and theory, among other subjects. She is interested in how societies use law to negotiate admission, residence, and belonging.
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Immigration and Refugee Law | SovereigntyGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Allard School of Law
Ayaka Yoshimizu
Ayaka Yoshimizu
Associate Professor of Teaching
My research examines cultural memories of transnational migrant sex workers and explores decolonial ways to memorialize histories of migration and sex work through performance ethnography. My current research looks at various forms of memorials of Japanese sex workers who lived in the transpacific w...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Gender and Migration | History of Migration | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Settler Colonialism and Decolonization | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Asian Studies
Barbara Lee
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Social Work
Benjamin Bryce
I am a historian of migration in the Americas, with a particular focus on both Argentina and Canada. In addition to my teaching in the UBC History Department, I am also chair of the Latin American Studies program (2022-2025). Beyond UBC, I am the editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Canadian Histor...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Diasporas and Transnationalism | History of Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Labour Migration | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Migration and RaceGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
History
Benjamin Cheung
Benjamin Cheung
Lecturer
My research has examined the process of acculturation/cultural adaptation in cultural psychology, focusing on personal, group, and societal factors. I also hope to better understand cultural dynamics between multigenerational diaspora and folks "back home." Moreover, I am interested in understanding...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Psychology
Benjamin Goold
Benjamin Goold
Professor
emailgoold@allard.ubc.ca
phone(604) 822-9255
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Democratic Theory and Practice | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Politics and PolicyMy major research interests include privacy rights, the use of surveillance technologies by the police and intelligence communities, and the rhetoric and language of human rights. I have written numerous works on privacy, surveillance, and security, including CCTV and Policing (Oxford University Pre...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Democratic Theory and Practice | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Politics and PolicyGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Allard School of Law
Bethany Hastie
My research examines low-wage labour migration, and focuses on understanding how legal regulations governing work and immigration status create barriers to legal and social inclusion, and access to justice for migrant workers. I have explored these issues most directly in the context of the low-wage...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
Allard School of Law
Catherine Dauvergne
Catherine Dauvergne
Professor
I have been working in the area of refugee, immigration, and citizenship law over the past quarter of a century. I have written three books that take a broad perspective on the theoretical underpinnings of these areas of law, including considering how human rights principles and discourses fit into ...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
Allard School of Law
Christopher Lee
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
English Language & Literatures
Claudio Vellutini
Claudio Vellutini
Associate Professor
phone(604) 822-6795
I am an opera scholar, studying the history, dissemination, and reception of nineteenth-century Italian and German opera. I am currently working on a book manuscript on opera networks and cultural exchange between Vienna and the Italian States in the first half of the nineteenth century. I am also i...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Music
ON LEAVE
July 1, 2024 - March 1, 2025
David Gramling
phone(520) 822-6251
Prof. Gramling (he/they) is author of The Invention of Monolingualism (Bloomsbury 2016, American Association for Applied Linguistics Book Award, 2018), co-author of Palliative Care Conversations: Clinical and Applied Linguistic Perspectives (De Gruyter 2019, with his brother Robert Gramling), ...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies
David Green
My research examines the impacts of migration of the receiving economy. Some of my work has explored how the impacts of the resource boom spread across Canada—more specifically, how wage increases in Alberta and Saskatchewan spread to the rest of the country; the impact of temporary foreign worker...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Vancouver School of Economics
Eagle Glassheim
My main research areas include the history of East and Central Europe, Habsburg Central Europe, Modern Germany, and Environmental History. Ongoing research interests include the environmental history of the "Black Triangle," an industrial and coal mining region spanning Poland, Chechoslovakia, and...Read more
Thematic Research Area
History of MigrationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
History
ON LEAVE
2024-25 School Year
Efrat Arbel
Efrat Arbel
ON LEAVE
2024-25 School Year
Associate Professor
emailarbel@allard.ubc.ca
phone(604) 822-6287
My research examines how legal rights are negotiated and defined in liminal spaces like the border, the detention center, and the prison. My current research brings the insights of trauma-informed practice to the law and practice of Canadian immigration detention. Together with PhD candidate Molly J...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Gender and Migration | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Detention | Immigration Politics and Policy | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Allard School of Law
Elif Sari
Elif Sari
Assistant Professor
emailelif.sari@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Immigration and Refugee Law | Migration and Race | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationMy research draws on ethnographic and community-engaged fieldwork (2014-19) in Turkey with Iranian LGBTQ refugees awaiting resettlement to the United States and Canada. I explore how Iranian refugees cope with the precarious and uncertain form of waiting in small Turkish towns, while negotiating the...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Immigration and Refugee Law | Migration and Race | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Anthropology
Elizabeth "Biz" Nijdam
Elizabeth "Biz" Nijdam
Assistant Professor
emailbiz.nijdam@ubc.ca
phone(604) 827-6394
location_onBuchanan Tower 905
Elizabeth “Biz” Nijdam is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where she lives, works, and learns on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of Musqueam, Squ...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies
Elizabeth Saewyc
Elizabeth Saewyc
Professor and Director
Thematic Research Area
Gender and Migration | Health and Migration | Immigrant Youth | Integration and Inclusion | International Students | Migration and healthcareI lead the Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre, a multidisciplinary research centre with collaborations across Canada and across the world. Our research focuses on marginalized young people and how their experiences of stigma, discrimination, violence and trauma influences their heal...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Gender and Migration | Health and Migration | Immigrant Youth | Integration and Inclusion | International Students | Migration and healthcareGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Nursing
Erin Baines
Erin is the Ivan Head South-North Chair (supported by the International Development Research Centre – Canada) and an Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia. Her research attends to the ways former combatants, survivors of sexual ...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Franco De Angelis
Franco De Angelis
Professor
phone(604) 822-6749
In my research, I have developed cross-cultural, interdisciplinary methodologies that employ not only all forms of ancient source, particularly archaeology (often the only form of contemporary evidence), but also a robust arsenal of theoretical tools to interpret this highly varied source base. Putt...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Climate Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Economics of Migration | History of Migration | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Migration and Race | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Ancient Mediterranean & Near Eastern Studies
Gage Averill
Gage Averill is an ethnomusicologist. He has written on the role of music in both Haitian and Trinidadian migration to North America, especially on music’s contribution to a poetics of place that enacts nostalgia and memory, negotiates the relationship of migrant communities to host communities, a...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Music
Gaoheng Zhang
Gaoheng Zhang is Associate Professor of Italian Studies at the University of British Columbia. He researches broadly on Italy’s global history and connections using a cultural-studies approach. His more recent works address migration and mobilities in relation to Italian-Chinese exchanges, the lon...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Gender and Migration | History of Migration | Integration and Inclusion | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Public OpinionGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies
George Belliveau
I specialize in Theatre Education, where I integrate theatre as a form of research and artistic expression across multiple disciplines. My co-edited book, Research-based Theatre: An Artistic Methodology (2016, Intellect), establishes the complexity and richness of this emerging field of artistic res...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
Language and Literacy Education
Geraldine Pratt
My research focuses on transnational migration, care economies and performance. I have collaborated with professional theater artists to create performances on the migration of Filipino domestic workers to Canada, on migration and settler colonialism, and on the migration from Europe and the United ...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Geography
Gillian Creese
I research immigrant and refugee settlement in Canada with particular attention to intersections of gender, racialization and class. My recent research charts the emergence of a new African diaspora in metro Vancouver, and my current work explores gendered outcomes for the second generation of Afric...Read more
Group
Continuing Faculty
Guofang Li
Guofang Li
Professor
emailguofang.li@ubc.ca
phone(604) 822-6954
Thematic Research Area
Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Refugees and Forced MigrationMy research interests include immigrant and refugee students’ language and literacy education, social integration, immigrant language policies and programs, parental engagement, as well as teacher education and professional development for these diverse populations. In particular, my work explores...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Refugees and Forced MigrationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Language and Literacy Education
Guy Stecklov
Much of my research focuses how incentives affect migration decisions in poor settings, often using experimental or quasi-experimental frameworks. In recent years I have been examining general patterns of rural-urban migration across the life course within sub-Saharan Africa and am currently studyin...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
Sociology
Heidi Tworek
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
History
Helena Zeweri
Helena Zeweri
Assistant Professor
emailhzeweri@mail.ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Migration and Race | Mobility Studies | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationUsing anthropological methods and concepts, my scholarship lies at the intersection of global migration studies, the social impacts of policy, and the political life of diasporas, with a focus on Australia, Afghanistan, and the US. Broadly speaking, my work aims to further conceptualizations of migr...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Migration and Race | Mobility Studies | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Anthropology
Henry Yu
Henry Yu
Associate Professor
emailhenry.yu@ubc.ca
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
History
Hessam Dehghani
Hessam Dehghani
Assistant Professor of teaching Persian Language and Culture
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Immigrant Youth | International Students | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Narratives and Politics of BelongingI teach Persian language and culture, primarily to heritage students who are the children of Iranian and Afghan immigrants. These students are often navigating the complexities of reconnecting with their ancestral homeland and culture while simultaneously contending with the pressures of assimilatio...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Immigrant Youth | International Students | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Narratives and Politics of BelongingGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Asian Studies
Hongxia Shan
Hongxia Shan
Associate Professor
emailhongxia.shan@ubc.ca
phone(604) 822-3349
Thematic Research Area
Gender and Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of BelongingDr. Shan is interested in the changing work and learning practices in the context of immigration, globalization, and transnationalism. She has conducted research and published in the areas of work and learning, knowledge “transfer” and translation, lifelong learning, organizational learning, di...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Gender and Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of BelongingGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Educational Studies
Irene Bloemraad
emaili.bloemraad@ubc.ca
location_onC.K. Choi 321
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Immigrant Services | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Migration and Race | Migration Policy and Politics | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Public Opinion | Refugees and Forced Migration | Undocumented Migration and Statelessness
I study how immigrants become incorporated into political communities and the consequences of migration on politics and understandings of membership. My research stands at the intersection of migration studies and political sociology, with a strong interdisciplinary (and international) scope. I ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Immigrant Services | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Migration and Race | Migration Policy and Politics | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Public Opinion | Refugees and Forced Migration | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Continuing Faculty
Jemima Baada
Jemima Baada
Assistant Professor
emailjemima.baada@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Climate Migration | Economics of Migration | Gender and Migration | Migration and RaceMy research uses a gendered lens to examine how diversely situated individuals and groups are affected by climate change, domestic and foreign investment, health inequalities and rural migration in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and other parts of the world. I am particularly interested in learning about ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Climate Migration | Economics of Migration | Gender and Migration | Migration and RaceGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Geography
Jenny Peterson
Jenny Peterson
Associate Professor of Teaching
Dr. Jenny Peterson is broadly interested in the politics of international aid with her past work analysing process of liberal peacebuilding and critiques thereof. Finding much of this critical work homogenizing of a diverse range of processes she has recently began exploring conceptual and empirica...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
Political Science
John Christopoulos
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
History
Juanita Sundberg
Juanita Sundberg
Associate Professor
phone(604) 822-3535
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Indigenous Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationI bring the insights of feminist political ecology and the sensibilities of an ethnographer to bear on nature conservation, border security, and militarization. My work seeks to foster conversations between feminist geopolitics, critical race theory, posthumanism, political ecology, and Latin Americ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Indigenous Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Geography
Julia Gabriele Harten
Julia Gabriele Harten
Assistant Professor
emailjulia.harten@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Digital and Media Studies | Gender and Migration | International Students | Overseas Chinese | School-to-Work TransitionToday, private rental markets are pivotal to understanding housing and cities. Yet, private renting remains ill-understood because good data about renting is lacking. My work addresses this gap in two ways: (1) by developing innovative data strategies and (2) by studying the housing choices, outcome...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Digital and Media Studies | Gender and Migration | International Students | Overseas Chinese | School-to-Work TransitionGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Community & Regional Planning
Julien Picault
As a labor economist who emphasizes the study of discrimination in the labour market, immigration, and more specifically immigrants, is at the center of my research. My previous work sought to identify some root causes of discrimination and assess the effectiveness of policies that foster equitable ...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
EPP – UBC Okanagan
Kai Ostwald
My work focuses on how states accommodate ethnic diversity, and how those institutions and policies shape inter-ethnic attitudes and behaviours. I generally focus on Southeast Asia, where a significant portion of the diversity results from both historic and contemporary migration.
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
Karun Karki
Karun Karki
Associate Professor
emailkarun.karki@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Economics of Migration | Gender and Migration | Health and Diaspora | Health and Migration | Immigrant Services | Labour Migration | Migration and healthcare | Migration and Race | Migration Policy and Politics | Mobility Studies | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and Decolonization | Sovereignty | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessAs a critical race scholar, I have been working with and writing about the unheard voices of minoritized communities, including immigrants, refugees, temporary migrant workers, and 2SLGBTQ+ people in Canada and internationally. In the context of global displacement, I am more interested in understan...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Economics of Migration | Gender and Migration | Health and Diaspora | Health and Migration | Immigrant Services | Labour Migration | Migration and healthcare | Migration and Race | Migration Policy and Politics | Mobility Studies | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and Decolonization | Sovereignty | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Social Work
Katherine Bowers
Katherine Bowers
Associate Professor
phone(604) 822-6431
My research focuses, broadly speaking, on the migration and circulation of literary genres, forms, and texts across European space and the way they shape cultural production in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Russia. I am also interested in the movement of ideas and in the ways information travel...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies
Kathryn McConnell
Kathryn McConnell
Assistant Professor
Thematic Research Area
Climate MigrationI study how increasingly frequent extreme weather events influence internal migration dynamics. My research in this area includes a national study of the effects of wildfire destruction on migration patterns in the United States and qualitative research on post-wildfire migration decision-making. I ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Climate MigrationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Sociology
Kimberly Bain
Kimberly Bain
Assistant Professor
emailkimberly.bain@ubc.ca
In my scholarly and critical-creative work, my most pressing and urgent concerns have consolidated around questions of the history, theory, and philosophy of the African diaspora. My work thinks about Black migration across the 18th century through the contemporary moment. I am currently at work on ...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
English Language & Literatures
Kyong Yoon
Kyong Yoon
Professor of English and Cultural Studies
emailkyong.yoon@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Children and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Immigrant Youth | Labour MigrationKyong Yoon is a Seoul-born media researcher. His research focuses on digital media audiences, trans-Pacific migration, and transnational Korean pop culture. He is the author of Digital Mediascapes of Transnational Korean Youth Culture (2020) and Diasporic Hallyu: The Korean Wave in Korean Canadian Y...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Children and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Immigrant Youth | Labour MigrationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Creative and Critical Studies – UBC Okanagan
Lennon Mhishi
Lennon Mhishi
Assistant Professor
emaillennon.mhishi@ubc.ca
I am an anthropologist whose interdisciplinary work spans interests in Africa and its diasporas, the afterlives of slavery and colonialism, and the approaches to contemporary forms of exploitation, forced labour and human rights in different African countries. I have experience in migration and dias...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Migration and Race | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Anthropology
Madeleine Ransom
Madeleine Ransom
Assistant Professor
My research focuses on the nature and value of human expertise in the face of AI, and its relationship to wellbeing. Migrants often possess significance expertise in a domain, but seldom get to use it in their new context, often to the detriment of their own wellbeing and to that of their new countr...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
EPP – UBC Okanagan
Mahtab Sirdani
Mahtab Sirdani
Sessional Lecturer
emailmsirdani@mail.ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Health and Migration | Integration and Inclusion | Narratives and Politics of BelongingMy PhD dissertation is titled: "Migration and Hope: Muslim Iranians in North America" wherein I focus on the interplay between vulnerability, hope, and well-being of pious Muslim residents of Massachusetts in the United States and Vancouver, BC in Canada.
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Health and Migration | Integration and Inclusion | Narratives and Politics of BelongingGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Asian Studies
Marc-David Seidel
I am interested in the role of migration in the growth and death of innovation ecosystems. One example in a local context is understanding the role of migration in the growth of innovation in the Vancouver ecosystem. I’m particularly interested in alternative economic models of organization enable...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Sauder School of Business
Marie-Eve Bouchard
Marie-Eve Bouchard
Assistant Professor
emailme.bouchard@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Integration and Inclusion | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Migration and RaceI am an Assistant Professor of Sociolinguistics in the Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies (FHIS). I hold a PhD degree from New York University, where I specialized in both sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology.
As an anthropologically oriented sociolinguist, I tend to enjoy...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Integration and Inclusion | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Migration and RaceGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies
Markus Hallensleben
My research project, situated within the wider context of the global mobility turn and critical European Culture Studies, investigates narratives of forced migration in contemporary German-language literature. Since the recent surge of asylum seekers into Europe, German-language literatures and cult...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Indigenous Studies | Integration and Inclusion | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies
Matthew Wright
Matthew Wright
Associate Professor
Matthew Wright earned his BA in political science and history from McGill University, and his PhD in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining UBC’s Department of Political Science, he was an Associate Professor of Government at American University in Washing...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Political Science
Megan Daniels
Megan Daniels
Assistant Professor
emailmegan.daniels@ubc.ca
phone(604) 827-1635
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | History of Migration | Mobility StudiesMy research focuses on cross-cultural interaction in the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia over the Late Bronze and Iron Ages (ca. 1500-500 BCE). A major component of these broad interests involves interdisciplinary approaches to the study of ancient migration, approaches which help us understa...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | History of Migration | Mobility StudiesGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Ancient Mediterranean & Near Eastern Studies
Michael Hooper
Michael Hooper
Associate Professor
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Climate Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Labour Migration | Mobility Studies | Refugees and Forced MigrationMichael Hooper's research focuses on urban planning, policy and politics, with particular interest in three themes related to urban spatial transformation: displacement, disasters and densification. Much of his work has focused on the drivers and consequences of displacement, including displacement ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Climate Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Labour Migration | Mobility Studies | Refugees and Forced MigrationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Community & Regional Planning
Michelle Stack
Michelle Stack
Associate Professor and Academic Director UBC Learning Exchange
Central research interest concerns how people, knowledge and institutions are categorized and the influence of these categorizations on our collective ability to respond to racism and debility. I have written about media representations of refugees, co-led media training for refugees, and photovoice...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Educational Studies
Minelle Mahtani
Minelle Mahtani
Associate Professor
I am an Associate Professor in the at the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice at UBC. I'm the co-editor of “Global Mixed Race” (NYU Press, 2014) and the author of “Mixed Race Amnesia: Resisting the Romanticization of Multiraciality in Canada” (UBC Press). My research ...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality & Social Justice
Miu Chung Yan
My areas of migration related research includes policies and services to support immigrants/refugees for settlement and integration, labour market experience of and racism experienced by youth from immigrant families, roles and functions of place-based community organizations in supporting social in...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Immigrant Services | Immigrant Youth | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced MigrationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Social Work
Mohamed Ibrahim
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Social Work
Nathan Nunn
Nathan Nunn
Professor
emailnathan.nunn@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Climate Migration | Culture and Migration | Economics of Migration | Gender and Migration | History of Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Migration and RaceNathan Nunn has examined the causes and consequences of migration. He has studied the consequences of immigration within the United States for long-term economic development, as well as the psychological effects of immigration on immigrants and their children and grandchildren. He has also examined ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Climate Migration | Culture and Migration | Economics of Migration | Gender and Migration | History of Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Migration and RaceGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Vancouver School of Economics
Neda Maghbouleh
Neda Maghbouleh
Associate Professor
Neda Maghbouleh studies the racialization of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) migrants in North America. She is an expert on ethnic and racial categories and identity formation as they relate to immigration processes and refugee resettlement.
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Sociology
Neha Gupta
Neha Gupta
Assistant Professor
emailneha.gupta@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of BelongingMy research interests are in working alongside, and with South Asian diaspora communities, in their experiences of race- and caste-based discrimination in the Canadian context, and narratives of belonging. I am especially interested in digital methods, tools and techniques in heritage studies.
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of BelongingGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Community, Culture and Global Studies – UBC Okanagan
Nikhita Obeegadoo
Nikhita Obeegadoo
Assistant Professor
My research focuses on oceanic migrations in archipelagoes of the Indian Ocean, Caribbean and Pacific Ocean. Rooted in comparative literary practices, my work employs multilingual, multispecies and decolonial frameworks to ask: How are the entwined histories of the Middle Passage, the kala pani jour...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Climate Migration | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Migration and Race | Refugees and Forced Migration | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Language and World Literatures
Oral Robinson
Oral Robinson
Lecturer
emailoral.robinson@ubc.ca
Migration, Ethnic Relations, Social Interaction, Development, Research Methods and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
I am currently working on the following projects: Intercultural Contact and Friendship formation in Canada; Migration and identities in the Caribbean
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Sociology
Pasang Sherpa
Pasang Sherpa
Assistant Professor
emailpasang.sherpa@ubc.ca
Tashi Delek!
I am a Sharwa anthropologist from Pharak, southern part of Mt. Everest region in northeastern Nepal. My research, writing and pedagogy focus on climate change and Indigeneity among Himalayan communities, guided by the question: How do we live in the midst of dying?
I am currently ...Read more
Group
Continuing Faculty
Peter Klein
I am collaborating on an ongoing project called Strangers at Home, which looks at xenophobia in Europe (tangentially connected to migration, since the rise of xenophobia is widely attributed in part to the rise of refugee migration).
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Journalism, Writing, and Media
Renisa Mawani
Renisa Mawani
Professor
emailRenisa@mail.ubc.ca
My research coalesces at the juncture of critical theory and British colonial legal history. To date, my work has aimed to write histories of indigenous dispossession and "Asiatic" migration (from China and India, in particular) as conjoined and entangled colonial legal processes that are central t...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Sociology
Rima Wilkes
My research considers the relationship between politics and racial and ethnic inequality. I have written on the integration of racial minorities and immigrants in advanced industrial democracies; some of my current research focuses on the causes and consequences of political and social trust. I’m ...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Sociology
Rosanne Sia
Rosanne Sia
Assistant Professor
emailrosanne.sia@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | History of Migration | Migration and RaceI am Assistant Professor at the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia.
My first book project examines cultural histories of migration, race, and gender in the US-Mexico borderlands. Mujer Peregrina: Performing Race, Space, and Memory in th...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | History of Migration | Migration and RaceGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality & Social Justice
Sara Shneiderman
Sara Shneiderman
Associate Professor
phone(604) 822-4387
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Climate Migration | Culture and Migration | Indigenous Studies | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessI am a socio-cultural anthropologist with long-term ethnographic commitments in the Himalayas and South Asia, and emerging research engagements in British Columbia, Canada. My research explores how social transformation is shaped by dynamics of citizenship and belonging (in relation to Indigenous, e...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Climate Migration | Culture and Migration | Indigenous Studies | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Continuing Faculty
Sarah Leavitt
Sarah Leavitt
Assistant Professor
emailsarah.leavitt@ubc.ca
My research focuses on storytelling through comics, particularly non-fiction stories. I was part of the Graphic Narratives of Migration project and am interested in how comics can be used to share experiences, ask questions and spark conversations about migration.
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Creative Writing
Sean Lauer
My research explores the sociology of community and the experience of newcomers in Canada in particular. I am interested in studying the experience of newcomers in the network of community based organizations in Vancouver and how these organizations impact social capacity development. My work also e...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Sociology
Shannon Ward
Shannon Ward
Assistant Professor
emailshannon.ward@ubc.ca
phone(250) 807-8695
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Refugees and Forced MigrationRESEARCH SUMMARY
Linguistic Anthropology; language acquisition and socialization; language shift and endangerment; children and childhood; greater Tibetan and Himalayan communities.
COURSES & TEACHING
Linguistic Anthropology; multilingualism; language documentation and revitalization....Read more
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Refugees and Forced MigrationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Community, Culture and Global Studies – UBC Okanagan
Shirley Chau
Shirley Chau
Associate Professor
emailshirley.chau@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Aged Migrants | Children and Migration | Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Economics of Migration | Federalism and Local Politics | Gender and Migration | Health and Diaspora | Health and Migration | History of Migration | Immigrant Services | Immigrant Youth | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Politics and Policy | Indigenous Studies | Integration and Inclusion | International Students | Labour Migration | Migration and healthcare | Migration and Race | Migration Policy and Politics | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Overseas Chinese | Public Management | Public Opinion | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and Decolonization | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessSince 1998, my program of research has focused on the impacts of immigration and resettlement on the health and wellbeing of migrants in Canada. This has resulted in research that has informed the impacts of the Hong Kong diaspora of 1997 on children and families in Canada, the health and wellbeing ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Aged Migrants | Children and Migration | Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Economics of Migration | Federalism and Local Politics | Gender and Migration | Health and Diaspora | Health and Migration | History of Migration | Immigrant Services | Immigrant Youth | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Politics and Policy | Indigenous Studies | Integration and Inclusion | International Students | Labour Migration | Migration and healthcare | Migration and Race | Migration Policy and Politics | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Overseas Chinese | Public Management | Public Opinion | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and Decolonization | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
School of Social Work
Sofia Noori
Sofia Noori
Assistant Professor
emailsofia.noori@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Children and Migration | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Immigrant Youth | Immigration and Refugee Law | Integration and Inclusion | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and Decolonization | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessDr Noori’s research and writing focuses on young refugees who move to Canada and work to establish a stable sense of self and belonging. Her research and writing provide readers with a better understanding of how refugee youth identify. Her research demonstrates how these young people navigate var...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Children and Migration | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Immigrant Youth | Immigration and Refugee Law | Integration and Inclusion | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and Decolonization | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Educational Studies
Sophie Borwein
Sophie Borwein
Assistant Professor
My research engages with questions that connect political economy, political behaviour, and public policy. One area of my research is focused on the determinants of attitudes toward inequality and welfare states. I have previously written about how people's knowledge of immigration policy shapes the...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Political Science
Sue Frohlick
Sue Frohlick
Professor of Anthropology, Gender, Women and Sexual Studies
emailsue.frohlick@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Gender and Migration | Immigrant Youth | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of BelongingI am interested in migration, ethnographically, as embodied, affective, sensorial experiences and subjectivities, and as encounters with social formations and relations including kinship, family, reproduction, sexuality, and white supremacy and anti-Black racism. I have focused on the boundaries bet...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Gender and Migration | Immigrant Youth | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of BelongingGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Community, Culture and Global Studies – UBC Okanagan
ON LEAVE
2024-25 School Year
Suzanne Huot
Suzanne Huot
ON LEAVE
2024-25 School Year
Associate Professor
emailsuzanne.huot@ubc.ca
phone(604) 822-7395
Thematic Research Area
Integration and Inclusion | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Narratives and Politics of BelongingMy research explores humans in daily occupation and activities, that is, occupations beyond paid employments and all activities that occupy an individual’s time. Using approaches informed by occupational science, qualitative methodologies, and critical social theory, my research focuses on the occ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Integration and Inclusion | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Narratives and Politics of BelongingGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy
Terri Givens
Terri Givens
Professor
emailterri.givens@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Public Opinion | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationTerri Givens is well-known as a researcher on the politics of immigration in Europe. Her more recent project focuses on the conflation of immigration and race on a more global scale. She has also written a textbook, Immigration in the 21st Century: The Comparative Politics of Immigration Policy
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Public Opinion | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Political Science
ON LEAVE
2022-25
Thomas Schneider
Thomas Schneider
ON LEAVE
2022-25
Professor
My research interests focus on interconnections between ancient Egypt and other civilizations of the ancient Near East, the Levant and Northeast Africa, including questions of migration and ethnic identity, cultural contact, as well as linguistic, literary and religious transfer. I am also intereste...Read more
Group
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Ancient Mediterranean & Near Eastern Studies
ON LEAVE
September 1 - December 31, 2024
Uma Kumar
phone(604) 822-6329
Uma Kumar moved to Vancouver from India in 2003 and has been teaching with CENES since 2007. She holds a PhD in German Studies, a Master’s in German Studies and a Master’s in English Literature from the University of Bombay, India. Uma spent six years at the University of Vienna, doing research ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Indigenous Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced MigrationGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies
Xiaojun Li
Xiaojun Li
Associate Professor
emailxiaojun.li@ubc.ca
Xiaojun Li received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University. He is currently Associate Professor of Political Science at UBC and non-resident scholar at the 21st Century China Centre at UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. Previously, he was a Princeton-Harvard China an...Read more
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Continuing FacultyHome Department
Political Science
Ying Zhu
Ying Zhu
Associate Professor
emailying.zhu@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Aged Migrants | Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Digital and Media Studies | Economics of Migration | Health and Migration | International Students | Labour Migration | Overseas ChineseI pursue two major research paths: 1) exploring the impact of emerging technologies like AI and the Metaverse on consumer behaviour, and 2) examining how marketing approaches (e.g., digital marketing, business networks) drive business outcomes.
As an immigrant and a marketing researcher specializ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Aged Migrants | Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Digital and Media Studies | Economics of Migration | Health and Migration | International Students | Labour Migration | Overseas ChineseGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
Management – UBC Okanagan
Yue Qian
Yue Qian
Associate Professor
emailyue.qian@ubc.ca
phone(604) 822-9972
Thematic Research Area
Digital and Media Studies | Gender and Migration | International Students | Overseas ChineseDr. Yue Qian is interested in understanding how gender intersects with family, work, and population processes—such as assortative mating (i.e., who marries whom), occupational segregation, and migration—to shape individual well-being and societal inequality.
Thematic Research Area
Digital and Media Studies | Gender and Migration | International Students | Overseas ChineseGroup
Continuing FacultyHome Department
SociologySessional Lecturers
Amanda Cardoso
Amanda Cardoso
Lecturer
My research focusses on understanding language variation and change, the role of population movements in these processes and the effect that attitudes to different languages or groups have in these situations, and the development of new methodologies for analysing speech sounds and sound patterns. R...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | History of Migration | Integration and Inclusion | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Sessional LecturersHome Department
Linguistics
Amira Halperin
Amira Halperin
Sessional Lecturer
emailamirahz@mail.ubc.ca
Dr. Halperin is an expert of immigration and media, researching Middle Eastern refugees and asylum seekers for the last 15 years, working from a community-base and using participatory methodology and an interdisciplinary approach. Amira consulted to the British Parliament on migrant communities in U...Read more
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Sessional LecturersHome Department
Sociology
Ania Switzer
Ania Switzer
Sessional Lecturer
emailania.switzer@ubc.ca
I am a historical-political sociologist, and have previously worked at Leo Baeck Institute in London, USC Shoah Foundation and Jagiellonian University in Krakow. My areas of specialisation are nationalism, post-war Central and Eastern Europe and its borderlands, production of knowledge and memory, a...Read more
Group
Sessional LecturersHome Department
Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies
Arianna Dagnino
Arianna Dagnino
Sessional Lecturer
phone(604) 822-5797
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of BelongingMy main research interests focus on the effects of migration, global mobility, neo-nomadism and complex cultural flows on cultural identities, creativity, and intercultural relations. Most of all, I am interested in how processes of transculturation shape creative artefacts (in particular literary ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of BelongingGroup
Sessional LecturersHome Department
French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies
Dorothee Leesing
Dorothee Leesing
Sessional Lecturer
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of BelongingDorothee Leesing is a researcher who specializes in media representation, urban development, and education. Her doctoral thesis on urban densification’s media portrayal, particularly high-rise buildings, uncovers societal implications. She has published on digital media, gaming, and gamified learn...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of BelongingGroup
Sessional Lecturers
Hasrat Grewal Gill
Hasrat Grewal Gill
Instructor
Thematic Research Area
Gender and Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Migration and Race | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationMy research focuses on decolonization of immigrant integration in Canada, while exploring the inclusion of Indigenous and immigrant perspectives into the idea of being “Canadian.” Apart from my academic research and teaching, over the last ten years I have continued to work in various capacities...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Gender and Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Migration and Race | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Sessional Lecturers
John Culbert
John Culbert
Sessional Lecturer
emailjohn.culbert@ubc.ca
phone(604) 822-4465
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Climate Migration | Culture and Migration | Democratic Theory and Practice | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Economics of Migration | Gender and Migration | Health and Migration | History of Migration | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Detention | Indigenous Studies | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Migration and healthcare | Migration and Race | Migration Policy and Politics | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Settler Colonialism and Decolonization | Sovereignty | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessI am the author of Paralyses: Literature, Travel and Ethnography in French Modernity (U. Nebraska Press, 2010), winner of a Best in Field award from the Modern Language Association. My newest book, Proximities: Literature, Mobility, and the Politics of Displacement is due out from Liverpool Universi...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Climate Migration | Culture and Migration | Democratic Theory and Practice | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Economics of Migration | Gender and Migration | Health and Migration | History of Migration | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Detention | Indigenous Studies | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Migration and healthcare | Migration and Race | Migration Policy and Politics | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Settler Colonialism and Decolonization | Sovereignty | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Sessional Lecturers
Lisa Richlen
Lisa Richlen
Sessional Lecturer
emaillmrichlen@gmail.com
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Indigenous Studies | Integration and Inclusion | Refugees and Forced MigrationLisa Richlen, a Canadian citizen through her mother, is originally from Seattle. She lived in Israel from 2000-2021 and, from 2004-2021 worked as an employee of and a consultant for tens of social change and human rights organizations. In 2021, Richlen completed a PhD at Ben Gurion University of the...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Diasporas and Transnationalism | Indigenous Studies | Integration and Inclusion | Refugees and Forced MigrationGroup
Sessional LecturersHome Department
Sociology
Mahtab Sirdani
Mahtab Sirdani
Sessional Lecturer
emailmsirdani@mail.ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Health and Migration | Integration and Inclusion | Narratives and Politics of BelongingMy PhD dissertation is titled: "Migration and Hope: Muslim Iranians in North America" wherein I focus on the interplay between vulnerability, hope, and well-being of pious Muslim residents of Massachusetts in the United States and Vancouver, BC in Canada.
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Health and Migration | Integration and Inclusion | Narratives and Politics of BelongingGroup
Sessional LecturersHome Department
Asian Studies
Mehran Jamshidi
Mehran Jamshidi
Lecturer
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Mobility StudiesMy research delves into the role of credentials in shaping the social and cultural capital of skilled immigrants in Canada, particularly in Metro Vancouver. I'm exploring how these credentials impact the ability of immigrant project managers to effectively integrate into the Canadian job market, des...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Mobility StudiesGroup
Sessional LecturersHome Department
Sauder School of Business
Su-Anne Yeo
Su-Anne Yeo
Sessional Instructor
emailsuanne.yeo@ubc.ca
My research examines how screen-based media from Asia and the Asian diaspora help to constitute new identities and social imaginaries. Currently, I am working on a research-led, practice-based, and community-engaged project about the late Hong Kong singer, actor, and queer icon, Leslie Cheung, who m...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Overseas Chinese | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Sessional LecturersPostdoctoral Fellows
Ashrafuzzaman Md
Ashrafuzzaman Md
Postdoctoral Fellow; Associate Professor, University of Chittagong
emailfrankashru@gmail.com
My research primarily focuses on understanding the socio-economic and environmental factors driving migration, particularly in regions affected by climate change and economic disparities. By examining the impact of sea level rise and changes in agricultural productivity on the Southwestern Coastal R...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Climate Migration | Culture and Migration | Gender and Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Indigenous Studies | Migration and Race | Refugees and Forced MigrationGroup
Postdoctoral FellowsHome Department
Anthropology
Jennifer Ma
Jennifer Ma
Postdoctoral Fellow
emailjenn.ma@ubc.ca
My research focuses on systemic oppression and addressing social inequalities through a critical, anti-colonial framework and multi-method approach. I am interested in equity for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities and building resilience in our communities. I have collaborat...Read more
Group
Postdoctoral FellowsHome Department
School of Social Work
Jessica Templeman
Jessica Templeman
Postdoctoral Fellow
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Immigration and Refugee Law | Migration and RaceMy research examines the criminalization of migration in Canada. My doctoral work considered how s. 36(1)(a) of the IRPA impacts migrant sentencing in Canada. My postdoctoral work now investigates how officers decide on inadmissibility using criminal court materials.
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Immigration and Refugee Law | Migration and RaceGroup
Postdoctoral FellowsHome Department
Allard School of Law
Kashif Raza
Kashif Raza
Postdoctoral Fellow
emailkraza24@mail.ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Citizenship | Climate Migration | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Economics of Migration | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of BelongingMy research explores the intricate intersections of migration, education, and policy, and how this intersectionality shapes international mobility, policy choices, educational contexts, curricular and instructional decisions, and sense of belonging/citizenship. I have conducted research and publishe...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Citizenship | Climate Migration | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Economics of Migration | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of BelongingGroup
Postdoctoral FellowsHome Department
Educational Studies
Kevin Lee
Kevin Lee
Killam Postdoctoral Fellow
emailklee119@mail.ubc.ca
A connective thread in much of my research is the political role of migrant civil society, particularly as organizational hubs of community organizing and policy advocacy. My current book project investigates these issues in the context of Indigenous Pacific Islander social movements in the continen...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Citizenship | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Immigration Politics and Policy | Indigenous Studies | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Migration and Race | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Postdoctoral FellowsHome Department
Political Science
Lisa Brunner
I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the UBC Centre for Migration Studies and teach in the UBC Department of Educational Studies. My current research is part of the “Migrant Integration in the Mid-21st Century: Bridging Divides” Canada First Research Excellence Fund project, with a focus on “Citizenship and belonging in a globalized and digitalized world.”...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Economics of Migration | Gender and Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | International Students | Labour Migration | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Postdoctoral FellowsHome Department
Educational Studies
Monique Gagné
Monique Gagné
Research Associate
emailmonique.gagne@ubc.ca
I am a Research Associate in the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), part of the School of Population and Public Health. Much of my work is focused on understanding children’s development in the context of unprecedented levels of global migration and how settlement countries such as Canada c...Read more
Group
Postdoctoral FellowsHome Department
School of Population and Public Health
Sandra Schinnerl
Sandra Schinnerl
Postdoctoral Fellow
location_onC.K. Choi 322
I am interested in the intersections between education and immigration policy and the migration pathways of economic migrants including those of international students. My postdoctoral research work contributes to the examination of how bureaucracies in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom navig...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Economics of Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Mobility Studies | Public OpinionGroup
Postdoctoral FellowsHome Department
Centre for Migration Studies
Shahin Kassam
Shahin Kassam
Postdoctoral Fellow
emailshahin.kassam@ubc.ca
Building upon my doctoral findings, my program of research centres on women impacted by forced migration. We know that most women forcibly displaced from their home countries have been, and continue to be, affected by gender-based violence. We know that settlement organizations are central to ensuri...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Climate Migration | Immigration and Refugee Law | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced Migration | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Postdoctoral FellowsHome Department
School of NursingEmeriti
Dan Hiebert
Dan Hiebert
Professor Emeritus
emaildan.hiebert@ubc.ca
My areas of interest include how immigration reshapes cities; the relationship between immigrants and urban economies; immigrants and housing markets; and the social reordering of cities as a result of immigration. I’m also interested in the nature of what is increasingly referred to as “superdi...Read more
Group
EmeritiHome Department
Geography
Richard Johnston
I’m interested in the relationships between native born settlers and immigrants in relation to the welfare state. My work ranges from survey- and experimentally-based work on civic (and uncivic) orientations to multi-country comparative work on immigration and social spending. Some of my research ...Read more
Group
EmeritiHome Department
Political ScienceExecutive Committee
ON LEAVE
Until June 2025
Alexia Bloch
My work has focused on mobility/immobility studies through ethnographic research in Russia and Eurasia. I have conducted research on migration, anthropology of gender, and statelessness. I have also analyzed the migration of post-Soviet labor migrants moving between Istanbul, Moscow, and southern Mo...Read more
Group
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Anthropology
Amanda Cheong
Amanda Cheong
Assistant Professor
emailamanda.cheong@ubc.ca
I am an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia. My research examines the links between legal status and the reproduction of inequality, with a focus on undocumented migrants, stateless persons, and refugees. I am currently working on my book project, entitled Omitted...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Citizenship | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced Migration | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Sociology
Antje Ellermann
Antje Ellermann
Professor | CMS Co-Director
phone(604) 822-4359
location_onDepartment of Political Science
My research focuses on the politics of migration and citizenship in liberal democracies. I am particularly interested in the nexus between immigration and the power of the law; the politics of immigration policy making; anti-immigration populism; and the intersection of migration, settler colonialis...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Immigration Politics and Policy | Indigenous Studies | Integration and Inclusion | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Settler Colonialism and Decolonization | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Political Science
Antje Ziethen
Antje Ziethen
Associate Professor
emailantje.ziethen@ubc.ca
I specialize in francophone literatures with a particular focus on urban space, migration, and gender. My research spans several geographical areas such as West Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, as well as North and South America. My most recent publications deal with the Black Mediterranean,...Read more
Group
Executive CommitteeHome Department
French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies
Catherine Dauvergne
Catherine Dauvergne
Professor
I have been working in the area of refugee, immigration, and citizenship law over the past quarter of a century. I have written three books that take a broad perspective on the theoretical underpinnings of these areas of law, including considering how human rights principles and discourses fit into ...Read more
Group
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Allard School of Law
ON LEAVE
2024-25 School Year
Efrat Arbel
Efrat Arbel
ON LEAVE
2024-25 School Year
Associate Professor
emailarbel@allard.ubc.ca
phone(604) 822-6287
My research examines how legal rights are negotiated and defined in liminal spaces like the border, the detention center, and the prison. My current research brings the insights of trauma-informed practice to the law and practice of Canadian immigration detention. Together with PhD candidate Molly J...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Gender and Migration | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Detention | Immigration Politics and Policy | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Refugees and Forced Migration | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Allard School of Law
Elizabeth "Biz" Nijdam
Elizabeth "Biz" Nijdam
Assistant Professor
emailbiz.nijdam@ubc.ca
phone(604) 827-6394
location_onBuchanan Tower 905
Elizabeth “Biz” Nijdam is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where she lives, works, and learns on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of Musqueam, Squ...Read more
Group
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies
Gaoheng Zhang
Gaoheng Zhang is Associate Professor of Italian Studies at the University of British Columbia. He researches broadly on Italy’s global history and connections using a cultural-studies approach. His more recent works address migration and mobilities in relation to Italian-Chinese exchanges, the lon...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Digital and Media Studies | Gender and Migration | History of Migration | Integration and Inclusion | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Public OpinionGroup
Executive CommitteeHome Department
French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies
Geraldine Pratt
My research focuses on transnational migration, care economies and performance. I have collaborated with professional theater artists to create performances on the migration of Filipino domestic workers to Canada, on migration and settler colonialism, and on the migration from Europe and the United ...Read more
Group
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Geography
Helena Zeweri
Helena Zeweri
Assistant Professor
emailhzeweri@mail.ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Migration and Race | Mobility Studies | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationUsing anthropological methods and concepts, my scholarship lies at the intersection of global migration studies, the social impacts of policy, and the political life of diasporas, with a focus on Australia, Afghanistan, and the US. Broadly speaking, my work aims to further conceptualizations of migr...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Migration and Race | Mobility Studies | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Anthropology
Irene Bloemraad
emaili.bloemraad@ubc.ca
location_onC.K. Choi 321
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Immigrant Services | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Migration and Race | Migration Policy and Politics | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Public Opinion | Refugees and Forced Migration | Undocumented Migration and Statelessness
I study how immigrants become incorporated into political communities and the consequences of migration on politics and understandings of membership. My research stands at the intersection of migration studies and political sociology, with a strong interdisciplinary (and international) scope. I ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Immigrant Services | Immigration and Refugee Law | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Migration and Race | Migration Policy and Politics | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Public Opinion | Refugees and Forced Migration | Undocumented Migration and StatelessnessGroup
Executive Committee
Lennon Mhishi
Lennon Mhishi
Assistant Professor
emaillennon.mhishi@ubc.ca
I am an anthropologist whose interdisciplinary work spans interests in Africa and its diasporas, the afterlives of slavery and colonialism, and the approaches to contemporary forms of exploitation, forced labour and human rights in different African countries. I have experience in migration and dias...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Migration and Race | Mobility Studies | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Anthropology
Matthew Wright
Matthew Wright
Associate Professor
Matthew Wright earned his BA in political science and history from McGill University, and his PhD in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining UBC’s Department of Political Science, he was an Associate Professor of Government at American University in Washing...Read more
Group
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Political Science
Pasang Sherpa
Pasang Sherpa
Assistant Professor
emailpasang.sherpa@ubc.ca
Tashi Delek!
I am a Sharwa anthropologist from Pharak, southern part of Mt. Everest region in northeastern Nepal. My research, writing and pedagogy focus on climate change and Indigeneity among Himalayan communities, guided by the question: How do we live in the midst of dying?
I am currently ...Read more
Group
Executive Committee
Sean Lauer
My research explores the sociology of community and the experience of newcomers in Canada in particular. I am interested in studying the experience of newcomers in the network of community based organizations in Vancouver and how these organizations impact social capacity development. My work also e...Read more
Group
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Sociology
ON LEAVE
2024-25 School Year
Suzanne Huot
Suzanne Huot
ON LEAVE
2024-25 School Year
Associate Professor
emailsuzanne.huot@ubc.ca
phone(604) 822-7395
Thematic Research Area
Integration and Inclusion | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Narratives and Politics of BelongingMy research explores humans in daily occupation and activities, that is, occupations beyond paid employments and all activities that occupy an individual’s time. Using approaches informed by occupational science, qualitative methodologies, and critical social theory, my research focuses on the occ...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Integration and Inclusion | Language, Literacy, and Linguistics | Narratives and Politics of BelongingGroup
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy
Terri Givens
Terri Givens
Professor
emailterri.givens@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Public Opinion | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationTerri Givens is well-known as a researcher on the politics of immigration in Europe. Her more recent project focuses on the conflation of immigration and race on a more global scale. She has also written a textbook, Immigration in the 21st Century: The Comparative Politics of Immigration Policy
Thematic Research Area
Borders and Sovereignty | Citizenship | Culture and Migration | Diasporas and Transnationalism | Gender and Migration | Immigration Politics and Policy | Integration and Inclusion | Labour Migration | Migration and Race | Narratives and Politics of Belonging | Public Opinion | Settler Colonialism and DecolonizationGroup
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Political Science
ON LEAVE
Feb 15, 2025
Vince Hopkins
emailvince.hopkins@ubc.ca
Thematic Research Area
Democratic Theory and Practice | Federalism and Local Politics | Migration Policy and Politics | Public Management | Public OpinionVince is broadly interested in Canadian politics, with emphasis on applied social policy. Specifically, he examines low take-up of government programs—how political and psychological barriers prevent citizens from accessing the services they need. His current research aims to improve take-up of em...Read more
Thematic Research Area
Democratic Theory and Practice | Federalism and Local Politics | Migration Policy and Politics | Public Management | Public OpinionGroup
Executive CommitteeHome Department
Political ScienceIn Memoriam
Y-Dang Troeung
Y-Dang Troeung
Assistant Professor
Y-Dang Troeung was an Associate Professor of English at the University of British Columbia and a member of the CMS Research Creation research group. She researched and taught in the fields of transnational Asian literatures, critical refugee studies, global south studies, and critical disability stu...Read more
Group
In MemoriamHome Department
English Language & Literatures