Biao Xiang#
| Membership Number: | 7161 |
| Membership type: | ORDINARY |
| Section: | SOCIAL CHANGE AND SOCIAL THOUGHT |
| Elected: | 2025 |
| Main Country of Residence: | GERMANY |
| Homepage(s): | https://www.eth.mpg.de/xiang |
| ORCID: | 0000-0002-3533-5551 |
Present and Previous Positions
- 2020 Director, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Germany
- 2015 - 2021 Professor of Social Anthropology, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Fellow in Anthropology, St Hugh’s College
- 2010 - 2015 Associate Professor (University Lecturer) in Social Anthropology, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Fellow in Anthropology, St Hugh’s College.
- 2005 - 2010 Research Council United Kingdom Academic Fellow, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology and ESRC Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, University of Oxford.
- 2003 - 2004 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Asia Research Institute and Asian MetaCentre for Population and Sustainable Development Analysis, National University of Singapore.
- 2002 Research Officer, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva.
Fields of Scholarship
- India
- Migration
- Social change and public consciousness
- China
- Political economy
- Anthropology
Honours and Awards
- 2024 Qihua Prize for individual research achievements in Wenzhou studies. Wenzhou Federation of Social Science Researchers, Social Science Branch of World Wenzhou People's Friendship Association, Wenzhou Huang Mengqi Foundation and Wenzhou University, China
- 2024 Scholar of the Year, People magazine, China
- 2023 Master of Our Time, Cover Person, Esquire magazine China
- 2022 Thinker of the Year, Southern Review magazine, China
- 2021 Qian Xuesen Gold Medal Award in Urban Studies for the book Transcending Boundaries (Chinese 2000 and 2018; English 2005). Hangzhou International Urban Research Centre, China
- 2014 - 2015 British Academy Mid-career Fellowship, UK
- 2012 William L. Holland Prize for best article of the year, by Pacific Affairs for article "Predatory princes and princely peddlers: The state and international labor migration brokers in China". 85 (1): 47-68.
- 2008 Anthony Leeds Prize, by American Anthropological Association for the book Global “Body Shopping”: An Indian International Labor System in the Information Technology Industry. (Princeton University Press. 2006).
