PhD thesis final - Royal Holloway, University of London

Chapter1- Introduction1) To consider the ways in which geographical concepts, such as space, place, scale andidentity, may inform existing understanding of migrant belonging.2) To explore the dynamics of the mutually-constitutive relationship betweencontemporary transnationalism and migrant belonging.These aims are accompanied by several research questions:1) How are Taiwanese expatriates‘ everyday living spaces of home, workplace andleisure spaces transformed into spaces of belonging? To what extent do Taiwaneseexpatiates‘ everyday interactions with and within these living spaces affect theiremotional process of belonging?2) How is the materiality of Taiwanese expatriates' everyday living spaces integratedand worked into their grounded practices of home-making to forge belonging in thehome, workplace and leisure spaces?3) In what ways do Taiwanese expatriates take part in transnational practices at home,in workplaces and in leisure spaces? How does such transnationality affect theireveryday emotional experiences of belonging?4) How do Taiwanese expatriates‘ identities shape their everyday experiences andgrounded practices of belonging? What identities are invoked and practised? Howdo these practices vary spatially?To fulfil the objectives, I designed my research plan to investigate the everyday aspectsof Taiwanese expatriates‘ lived experiences in a range of spatial settings, includingdomestic, workplace and leisure spaces as well asin cyberspace, to explore thespace(s) of Taiwanese expatriates‘ belonging. To this end, I employed qualitative31