Growing, Sustaining, and Building a Career on Instagram Following International Migration: A Case Study of Persian Creators in Canada

Atieh Razavi Yekta, Suzanne Huot, and Heather O’Brien

WPS 2023/3

Abstract

Emerging Canadian data indicate that immigrants are more likely to participate in the platform economy compared to Canadian-born people. We conducted an instrumental case study with Persian Instagram creators in Metro Vancouver, Canada, to understand their motivations for and experiences of engaging in this type of gig work. Platform work, also known as gig work, refers to paid work organized around “gigs” (i.e., projects or tasks), and is facilitated through digital platforms that workers engage in on a term-limited basis without being formally employed by a particular organization. Methods included content analysis of Instagram policies and community guidelines and in-depth interviews with five Persian Instagram creators. Data collection is ongoing. Preliminary findings reveal how creators navigate the influence of Instagram algorithms through crafting an authentic online persona, deploying consistent content creation strategies, and empowering self-continuity as they experience occupational transitions following migration. Building on these findings, we develop a discussion that enriches our understanding of how these immigrant creators turned engagement metrics into strategies to grow, sustain, and build a career in Canada through Instagram.

KEYWORDS: immigration; platform economy; gig work; Instagram; creators; algorithms; Persian community, qualitative research

Working Paper Series

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International Undergraduate Students and the Employability Game

Sameena Karim Jamal, Alison Taylor, and Catalina Bobadilla Sandoval

WPS 2023/2

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Abstract

This paper explores international students’ orientations to employability as evidenced in their descriptions of term-time work. Undergraduate students who work often face pressures related to juggling studies and employment. We argue that international students are likely to face additional pressures related to higher education costs and the desire to open doors to migration within a context of ever-changing rules and regulations. This paper draws on Bourdieu’s analogy of “playing the game” and scholarly work on employability to analyze narratives from diverse international students who strategize to develop and revalorize capitals to enhance their employability with the aim of securing a brighter future. We argue that the onus of enhancing employability does not lie solely with individual students but is rather a responsibility to be shared at different levels. Building on the work of other scholars, we offer recommendations that may contribute to enhancing the international student experience.

KEYWORDS: international students, employability, immigration, Canada, Bourdieu, capital

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International Students’ Cultural Engagement through (De-)Constructing Distance

Anne-Cécile Delaisse & Gaoheng Zhang

WPS 2023/1

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Abstract

International students’ engagement with different cultures has received increased scholarly attention. The literature tends to either celebrate students’ cosmopolitanism and transnationalism or highlight their difficulties “adapting” in their receiving countries. In the former case, cultural differences tend to be considered irrelevant, whereas in the latter case, cultural differences are taken for granted and foregrounded as central to students’ experiences. In this paper, we examine students’ own perceptions and engagement with their sending and receiving countries’ cultures through the notion of distance, which is gleaned from mobilities studies. We draw from 20 online, in-depth interviews with Vietnamese international students based in Vancouver and Paris. Our analysis highlights how students construct or deconstruct notions of distance between Vietnam and their receiving countries, and also between themselves and each of these countries (i.e., their sending and receiving countries). First, we examine how students cultivate a sense of cultural proximity to their (geographically distant) countries of destination, through their predeparture engagement with these countries’ language or media. Second, we address students’ rapport with French and Canadian societies while residing in those countries, highlighting how ethno-racial diversity in the receiving contexts shapes students’ perceptions of distance at various levels as well as their strategies to address these perceived distances. Finally, we discuss students’ sense of proximity to or distance from Vietnamese culture while studying in France and Canada and how these constructions can be related to a specific form of cosmopolitanism. We argue that the notion of distance helps foster a nuanced and critical understanding of international students’ mobilities, transculturality, and cosmopolitanism.

KEYWORDS: International education, cosmopolitanism, mobilities, transculturality, transnationalism

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The Conflicting Aims of Higher Education Admission and Immigration Selection Criteria in Canadian ‘Edugration’

Lisa Ruth Brunner & Guofang Li

WPS 2022/4

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Abstract

In higher education-migration, or edugration, immigrant-dependent countries attempt to retain international post-secondary students as ‘skilled’ foreign workers and ‘ideal’ economic immigrants. However, higher education’s role as an immigrant selection actor in this process has been largely overlooked. In this paper, we use Bourdieu’s conception of capital to consider the relationship between Canadian (1) higher education institutions’ international student admission criteria, and (2) criteria of key economic immigrant programs which subsequently target these pre-selected international students. Our findings indicate a misalignment between the two selection processes, highlighting a potentially exploitative and relatively unregulated policy arena governing international students as they attempt to acquire the necessary capital to qualify for permanent residency.

KEYWORDS: higher education, international students, economic immigration, capital, edugration

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Expanding Opportunities: Postgraduate Studies at the Nexus of Migration, Internationalization, and Integration

Hongxia Shan, Elena Ignatovich, Siyi Cheng, Agnes d’Entremont and Thomas Tannert

WPS 2022/3

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Abstract

Higher education institutions in Canada have witnessed a surge in the number of international students and mature immigrant students. Research has established a positive correlation between attending higher institutions and immigrant and international students’ labour market outcomes. It is, however, not known how attending higher education may have worked to advance people’s professional careers. Neither do we know how the increasing number of students with migratory experiences may have impacted higher education and professions in terms of knowledge and practice. Drawing on a qualitative study with immigrants with engineering backgrounds who attended postgraduate studies in Canada, this paper provides some insights into these questions. In particular, it sheds light on the unique position that postgraduate studies occupy in the life trajectories of the respondents, the ways in which they benefited from the programs, as well as the impacts they brought to the engineering profession. Special attention is paid to the features of postgraduate programs that enabled the respondents to expand both their professional and life opportunities and the existing knowledge and practices within the engineering profession. Theoretically, the study benefits from a practice-based conception of immigrant as “distinctive knowledge practitioners”. Empirically, the study brings together life history research and situational analysis.

KEYWORDS: postgraduate studies, immigrants, engineering, international students, life history, situational analysis

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Citizenship Denied: The Incarceration of Japanese Canadians in the SchreiberJackfish Road Camps in Ontario during the Second World War

Lucy Warrington & Benjamin Bryce

WPS 2022/2

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Abstract

The internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War has been a muchresearched topic, and it has become more present in Canadian public memory thanks to the active efforts of Japanese Canadians since the 1970s to seek redress from the Federal Government. This article seeks to add to this discussion the importance of recognizing the range of carceral experiences in Canada during the war. Both academic research and popular memory of Japanese Canadian “internment” often unconsciously promote uniformity in prisoners’ experiences. This obscures the gendered nature of wartime incarceration and discourse. Men and women were often separated; only male Japanese Canadians were sent to Ontario road camps. Age and class were also crucial in forming carceral sites, as only young men were sent to road camps, and wealthier Nisei could afford to live in ghost towns in the BC interior to avoid forced labour, underlining how the degrees of immobility depended on one’s affluence. Despite the popular perception that road camps were voluntary, the Canadian-born men labelled “enemy aliens” were nonetheless imprisoned.

KEYWORDS: enemy aliens; Japanese internment; carceral sites; Nisei; Schreiber-Jackfish road camp

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Digital Enclaves: Partner Preferences and Platform Choices among Chinese Immigrant Online Daters in Vancouver

Manlin Cai & Yue Qian

WPS 2022/1

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Abstract

In light of the growing racialized immigrant population in Canada and advances in dating technologies, this study examines Chinese immigrants’ partner preferences and partner selection processes through the lens of online dating. We draw on in-depth interviews with 31 Chinese immigrants who have used online dating services in Metro Vancouver to search for different-sex partners. Chinese immigrant online daters show strong preferences for dating Chinese. They emphasize permanent residency status and similarity in age at arrival when evaluating potential partners. Given their preferences, Chinese immigrants strategically choose the dating platforms they primarily use. Men exhibit higher selectivity in their preferences and choices of platforms. Notably, platforms catering to Chinese users create “digital enclaves” where Chinese immigrant daters congregate. The findings illuminate the intersection of race, gender, immigrant status, and age at arrival in shaping divergent experiences of partner selection and immigrant integration in the digital era.

KEYWORDS: integration, Chinese, gender, immigration, partner selection, online dating

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Belonging in Unceded Territory Project

Stills from animated video, Belonging in Unceded Territory

Project Overview

Vancouver is situated on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Coast Salish peoples have belonged on these lands since times immemorial. Yet, narratives of belonging rarely grapple with the fact that belonging is negotiated on stolen land. The Belonging in Unceded Territory project brings settler colonialism into the center of debates on social belonging in Vancouver. It asks: what does it mean for today’s settlers – those among us who have lived here for generations, and those who have just arrived – to acknowledge our own position in relation to Indigenous presence in these lands? How can we develop place-based narratives of belonging that do not shy away from confronting the ugly truth of ongoing settler colonialism? How can we live as good guests on these lands? What actions can we take individually and organizationally to move forward in relationship? Engagement with these questions is critical if we are to be responsive to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls for Action.

Project goals

Our award of funding coincided with the start of the first pandemic lockdown. While it took time to establish our partnership via Zoom, the lockdown also provided us with space to reflect on the project and our place in it. Since then, we continue to learn from each other and from the Indigenous knowledge keepers who support our work. As a result, our original objectives have evolved. Today, nearly three years into the project, we pursue the following goals:

Build reciprocal and sustainable partnerships between the Centre for Migration Studies, settlement and community organizations, and Indigenous community leaders.
Facilitate settler dialogue and learning about Coast Salish histories, colonization, and the ways in which we are implicated in Canada’s settler colonial project. Recognize the differential positioning of Canadian-born and newcomer settlers, and white and racialized settlers.
Learn from the wisdom of knowledge keepers to explore decolonizing ways of living and belonging. Identify actions we can take to live as respectful guests on Coast Salish territories and support the host nations.
Share our knowledge through various media to enable outreach to different audiences.

Research stages

2020: Partnership building | Text analysis | Media analysis
2021: Interviews and talking circles | Decolonizing Initiatives Map
2022: Decolonizing training | Podcast production | Animated film production | Dialogue group planning
2023: Dialogue groups and survey planning
2024: Survey

Partners

UBC Centre for Migration Studies
Antje Ellermann (PI)
Markus Hallensleben
Richard Johnston
Sean Lauer
Gabriele Dumpys Woolever
Matthew Wright
Yang-Yang Zhou

Research Assistants:

Nicholas Phin
Cindy Robin
Lara Şarlak
Claudia Serrano

Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House
Susan Liu Woronko
Jessie Seegerts
Gloria Tsui
Ancel Xiaoyu Zhu

Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC (AMSSA)
Katie Crocker
Winnie Chironga
Sabrina Dumitra
Sara Sehic

Immigrant Services Society of BC (ISSofBC)
Kathy Sherrell
Shae Viswanathan
Jennifer York

We are grateful for the support of Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House during the project’s formative stage.

Knowledge dissemination

Podcast episode

Canada is lauded for its multiculturalism and being a welcoming host society to migrant newcomers. But discourses around settlement and integration tend to ignore the realities of Canada’s status as a settler colonial state. What would it mean to take seriously the fact that these are Indigenous lands to which Canada has no right to offer welcome? Can practices of immigration and settlement be reconciled with the possibility of decolonization? These are the questions that brought together partners in Coast Salish territories – or, Vancouver, BC – for a multi-year research collaboration called “Belonging in Unceded Territory.” With newcomer and Indigenous community members from Frog Hollow Neighborhood House, migration scholars from UBC, and staff from Immigrant Services Society of BC and the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC, space is being made for new narratives of belonging. What will they be?

Animated film (Coming soon: discussion guide and film subtitles in several languages)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUKQ4r7Aqnw

This animated film features voices of Indigenous and settler community project participants and distills the themes and questions of the Belonging project. The substance of the film’s narrative comes from talking circles and interviews conducted in 2021. We are deeply grateful to the many participants who shared their reflections and experiences with CMS and Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House collaborators. The film was produced by Sebastian Hill-Esbrand and features artwork by Emily Chou and Charlene Johnny.

This film may be freely shared and viewed for educational and discussion purposes. If you decide to use the film in a group setting we ask that you send a brief message to Antje Ellermann so that we can get a sense of how this film is being used. Feel free to use our discussion guide (coming soon) to get the conversation started.

Decolonizing Initiatives Map

This digital map briefly introduces some of the many local projects that we connected with through this project that have initiatives dedicated to efforts of Truth and Reconciliation, decolonization and/or Indigenization on unceded Coast Salish territories. The initiatives displayed on the map are far from a comprehensive list and our project welcomes requests from other groups who are similarly engaged in decolonizing initiatives in the region. In case your organization is interested in being featured on this map, please contact admin.migration@ubc.ca.

By clicking on an organization’s logo on the map, you will find more information about its initiative and ways to connect with or be a part of it!

Publications

Hallensleben, Markus. (Forthcoming) “Unsettling Politics of Belonging through Narratives of Radical Diversity and Indigenous Storywork.” Politics of Postmigration. Special issue of Europe Now (2023). https://www.europenowjournal.org/

Hallensleben, Markus. (Forthcoming) „Über die Lust des Vergessens und Zerstörens: Kann es eine gewaltlose, dekolonialisierte und dezentrierte Literaturwissenschaft geben? Ein persönliches Manifest für eine verantwortungsbewusste, relationale Wissensvermittlung. [About the Pleasure of Forgetting and Destroying: Can There Be Literary Studies without Violence, Colonialism and Eurocentrism? A Personal Manifesto for Sharing Knowledge in a Responsible and Relational Way.”] The Pleasure of Studying Literature. Eds. Mona Koerte et al.

Hallensleben, Markus. “(Re)Imagining a ‘Good Life’ as a Settler Scholar: How Can We Decolonize and Indigenize European Studies through Indigenous Storywork?” Polylogues at the Intersection(s) Series, 2022. (Open access)

Presentations

We continue to share the insights gained from this work through presentations with academic, community, and policy audiences, both at home and further afield:

2023

Centre for Advanced Migration Studies, University of Copenhagen, May 2023
Centre for the Study of Political Behaviour, Western University, London, Ontario, March 2023
CMS Narratives group, Centre for Migration Studies, January 2023
Host Nations Luncheon, Vancouver, January 2023
Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House, all staff meeting, January 2023

2022

IRCC Canada BC-Yukon Summit, hosted by AMSSA, plenary session, November 2022
Annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Montreal, September 2022

Acknowledgements

The Belonging in Unceded Territory project is taking place on the ancestral and stolen territories of the Coast Salish peoples. This land sustains us in our daily work and lives. Coast Salish peoples have served as the stewards and knowledge keepers of these lands since time immemorial. We raise our hands to you!

We gratefully acknowledge the Indigenous elders, knowledge keepers, and community leaders who have and continue to guide us on our learning journey through their teaching and feedback:

Chepximiya Siyam’ Chief Janice George
Skwetsimeltxw Willard “Buddy” Joseph
Elder Kat Zu’comulwat Norris
Norm Leech
Niis Miou/Travis Angus
Sussan Yáñez
Jolene Andrew
Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee

We acknowledge the financial support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council through its Partnership Development Grant program (#890-2019-0100).

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Language Attitudes and Social Consequences in Diverse Contexts

We are thrilled to share that our faculty affiliates Amanda Cardoso (Principal Investigator) and Marie-Eve Bouchard (Co-Investigator) have been awarded a SSHRC Connection Grant for outreach, engagement and public dissemination activities for their research project Language Attitudes and Social Consequences in Diverse Contexts. The UBC Centre for Migration Studies is excited to be the administrator of this grant, and will provide matching funds towards the project to support a research workshop. The project has received other contributions from UBC Language Sciences, UBC Public Humanities Hub and the Canadian Linguistic Association.

The project centres on three areas of interest in language attitudes research: 1) social consequences (e.g.. unequal outcomes in employment opportunities), 2) multilingualism (e.g., impact of language attitudes on learning or retaining a variety), and 3) public voices (e.g., unequal representation of voices in the public spheres through media and speech technology). The project will connect a diverse network of scholars interested language attitudes and social contexts, disseminate research to the general public and specific language communities to promote multilingualism and marginalized languages, celebrate the intersection of language and culture, highlight the benefits of linguistic diversity and combatting language-based discrimination, and initiate discussions in academic and non-academic circles to foreground the social consequences of language attitudes.

Additional researchers involved in the project are Dr Molly Babel (Associate Professor, Linguistics, UBC), Professor Erez Levon (University of Bern, Centre for the Study of Language and Society), Suyuan Li (PhD Candidate, Linguistics, UBC), Angelina Lloy(Graduate, Linguistics, UBC) and Mackenzie Dixon (Undergraduate, FHIS, UBC).