Melissa Tandiwe Myambo
My current research project focusses on frontier migration - the move of people, capital, technology and ideas from a more "developed" economy to a "developing" economy. "Highly-skilled" migrants are moving from more “developed” countries to the “developing” economies of China, India, and South Africa. I ask why these frontier migrants are heading to the “global South” and research the urban microspaces, or Cultural Time Zones (CTZs), where they work, live and socialize.
Subjects: Area Studies, Asian Studies, Built Environment, Literature, Urban Planning, Urban Studies
Biography
My current research project focusses on "frontier migration" - the move of people, capital, technology and ideas from a "developed" economy to a "developing" economy."Highly-skilled" migrants are moving from more “developed” countries such as the US to the “developing” economies of China, India, and South Africa. I ask why these frontier migrants are heading to the “global South,” try and find out what they’re doing there and research the microspaces or "cultural time zones” (CTZs) where they work, live and socialize in their new homes. My CTZ research led to my interest in urban planning/design, the global middle classes and the “global city.” I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time in cafes and malls but obviously both CTZs relevant to my research ☺
Links to my other writings can be found on my fascinating website www.homosumhumani.com. When the weather is warm, I live in Brooklyn, New York.
Education
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PhD, New York University
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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migration, globalization, cultural, transnational American, Asian, African, urban studies
Personal Interests
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Kayaking; watching tennis; hiking; sci fi books/movies/series; watch way too much news - politics is fascinating yet distressing; like to think about making conceptual art projects but hardly ever do any; FITNESS - especially enjoy teaching boxing, bootcamp and dance. Like complex step choreographies but good step instructors are unfortunately a dying breed.
Books
Articles
Africa's Global City? The Hipsterification of Johannesburg
Published: Dec 01, 2017 by New Left Review
Authors: Melissa Tandiwe Myambo
Hipsterification = hipster-led gentrification. Real estate developers and city municipalities implicitly and explicitly support hipsterification even though it leads to the displacement of the working classes. They support it because hipsterified Cultural Time Zones (or neighbourhoods) make their cities more competitive in global city rankings...
Frontier Heritage Migration in the Global Ethnic Economy
Published: May 01, 2017 by Public Culture
Authors: Melissa Tandiwe Myambo
South Africa, China, India, and other industrializing countries are receiving increasing numbers of frontier heritage migrants—those who were raised in “First World” countries and who are now moving to their ancestral ethnic homelands. The primary aim of this article is to offer a conceptual definition of (frontier) heritage migration and interrogate neoliberal globalization.
Capitalism Disguised as Democracy: A Theory of “Belonging,” Not Belongings, in the New South Africa
Published: Jan 01, 2011 by Comparative Literature
Authors: Melissa Tandiwe Myambo
Exploring the relationship between capitalism and the discourse of multicultural democracy that animates the New South Africa's notion of itself as Rainbow Nation, this article attempts to understand why it is impossible for politically progressive postapartheid South African fiction, centrally concerned with social justice, to launch an effective critique of neoliberal capitalism in present day South Africa.