5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

Asian Minorities are often seen as “model minorities” due to their members’ educational success and integration in Western societies. While earlier research focused on parental strategies like educational styles and involvement in ethnic community networks, recent attention has shifted to Asian European children and youths and their subjectivities, offering new insights into their roles and positions in their families, communities and society at large. However, especially in Europe, research remains fragmented. This session aims at providing an overview of the general research landscape on young Asian Europeans, exploring their experiences, views and lifeworlds beyond the model minority myth. We invite scholars to discuss with us the challenges and potentials young Asian Europeans face while taking into account their heterogeneity regarding conditions of migration and arrival, cultures, social positions etc.

Starting out from a childhood sociological paradigm, this session welcomes papers on the following (though not exhaustive) list of topics:

• Demographic trends/developments of Asian minorities and young Asian Europeans
• Immigration policies relevant for Asian migration to Europe and the ways they impact on young people’s experiences
• Asian European children’s and youths’ experiences and positions in institutions of the educational and welfare system
• Impact and negotiations of “Eastern” and “Western” normative ideas of childhood and parenting
• Social inequalities in the production of (model) minority childhood
• Social relations and meaning-making in Asian European families, peer-groups, ethnic communities, transnational networks and media landscapes
• Transnational spaces and (multiple) belongings of young Asian Europeans
• Conceptual frameworks and methodological approaches