The Immigrant Sociologist: Paul Siu at Chicago

Paul Siu’s dissertation on the experience of Chinese laundry workers in the United States is a hallmark study in the Chicago sociology of migration. Siu joined the Chicago sociology program in 1932, defended his dissertation in 1953, and had it published as a book in 1987. This article identifies Si...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe American sociologist Vol. 53; no. 3; pp. 465 - 487
Main Author Eilbaum, Nicolás
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Springer US 01.09.2022
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Assimilation
Dissertations & theses
Immigrants
Migration
Social Sciences
Sociology
United States > US
Chicago Illinois
Temporary migration
Chicago school of sociology
Sojourner
Paul C.P. Siu
Sociology of migration
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Paul Siu’s dissertation on the experience of Chinese laundry workers in the United States is a hallmark study in the Chicago sociology of migration. Siu joined the Chicago sociology program in 1932, defended his dissertation in 1953, and had it published as a book in 1987. This article identifies Siu’s key contributions and discusses the relationship between Siu’s work and the Chicago sociology of migration. An immigrant himself, Siu offered an approach to migration that was closer to the migrants: an immediate and often intimate window into the subjective dimension of migration. While Siu’s closeness to the migrants allowed him to collect the kind of firsthand data associated with Chicago sociology, it also revealed elements of the migrant experience that stretched the boundaries of Chicago’s analytical framework. Siu’s understanding of migration as temporary, in particular, departed from Chicago sociology’s emphasis on immigrant assimilation. This article seeks to reexamine Siu’s contribution and underline its value for current and future research on migration.
ISSN:0003-1232
1936-4784
DOI:10.1007/s12108-022-09540-5