The role of pre-migratory aspirations–capabilities in shaping post-migratory agentic socialization and the pursuit of belonging: A comparative study of mainlander and Taiwanese Chinese migrants in Hong Kong
Connie Mak & Jing Xu
What the paper says
Aspirations–capabilities, as attributes affecting individuals’ mobility, are mainly studied as determinants of pre-migratory decision-making, with less attention paid to their effects on the post-migratory experience. By comparing Chinese migrant groups from Mainland China and Taiwan who have settled in Hong Kong, this study draws on the mobility dimensions as developed by de Haas and the practice theories of Bourdieu to explore how migrants from similar ethnic origins but with different aspirations–capabilities experience distinct post-migratory cultural socialization and agentic coping mechanisms. The narratives of fifteen migrants reveal that, in face of conflicting social norms, those with high aspirations–capabilities tended to cope through the intrinsic and radical transformation of individuals, while those with lower aspirations–capabilities coped through extrinsic, instrumental transnationalism. By analysing the socialization pathways of the two groups, we explain the factors that determined how they overcame migratory challenges like language barriers and discrimination, in an effort to negotiate their belonging in the host society. Our findings add nuanced understanding to Bourdieu’s thesis that despite similar corporeal (re)production of social practices, innate agentic responses can vary depending on pre-disposed (pre-migratory) aspirations. The study also highlights the role of pre-migratory cultural capital (prior lived understanding of the destination) in shaping aspirations and capabilities, which has been overlooked this far.
1 citation
Evidence weight
Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40
| F · citation impact | 0.16 × 0.4 = 0.06 |
| M · momentum | 0.53 × 0.15 = 0.08 |
| V · venue signal | 0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03 |
| R · text relevance † | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.