Kumiko Kawashima

In her research to date, Kumiko has investigated the nexus between individual lives, labour and consumption in post-industrial contexts, as well as social transformation through the lens of transnational migration.

Trained in qualitative methods, she particularly values ethnography as a way to observe everyday practices and approach questions that have long fascinated sociologists and anthropologists alike, such as the relationships among identity formation, capitalism and modernity, and how these interact with issues of gender, class, ethnicity and culture.

Before joining Macquarie University, Kumiko completed her PhD at the Australian National University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.