Soziologie
Dr. Zhenwei Wang – Former Doctoral Researcher of AG Social Anthropology and BGHS Member – Won Annual Dissertation Prize by UGBi
On last Tuesday (21 July 2026), the Universitätsgesellschaft Bielefeld (UGBi) (University Society Bielefeld) awarded its annual Dissertation Prizes to the best doctoral dissertations written in 2025 from every faculty of the university. Among the fifteen winners this year is Dr. Zhenwei Wang, a former PhD student of AG Social Anthropology and BGHS member. Zhenwei is now working as a Research Associate at the Heidelberg Center for Ibero-American Studies (HCIAS), Heidelberg University.
Dr. Zhenwei Wang (Photo by Stefan Sättele)
Zhenwei's dissertation entitled "The gender and class dynamics of families on the move: An ethnography of translocal kinning and caregiving in contemporary China" shows that migration does not simply dissolve family relationships. Instead, Chinese families maintain their relationships over long distances through visits, financial support, storytelling, and digital monitoring. These practices create new forms of care and support, but also reflect inequalities in gender, generation, and social background.
The dissertation has now been turned into an upcoming monograph to be published by UCL Press in January 2027. For a sneak peek into the book's content, make sure to follow BielefeldANTHRO Book Podcast as Zhenwei is our next featuring author!
From left to right, Yukun Sun, Dr. Zhenwei Wang and Lana Emmerling in the podcast recording session
To learn more about the award and all the winners of 2025, please visit this page.
Once again, we congratulate Zhenwei on her accomplisments!