Volume 2 of The Cambridge History of Global Migrations presents an authoritative overview of the various continuities and changes in migration and globalization from the 1800s to the present day. Despite revolutionary changes in communication technologies, the growing accessibility of long-distance travel, and globalization across major economies, the rise of nation-states empowered immigration regulation and bureaucratic capacities for enforcement that curtailed migration. One major theme worldwide across the post-1800 centuries was the differentiation between “skilled” and “unskilled” workers, often considered through a racialized lens; it emerged as the primary divide between greater rights of immigration and citizenship for the former, and confinement to temporary or unauthorized migrant status for the latter. Through thirty-one chapters, this volume further evaluates the long global history of migration; and it shows that despite the increased disciplinary systems, the primacy of migration remains and continues to shape political, economic, and social landscapes around the world.

The Epilogue explores experiences of former sent-down youth in the context of the post-Mao economic reforms, particularly their reconnection with the villages in which they had lived during the Cultural Revolution. It looks at the formation of sent-down youth associations in major cities throughout China and the organization of delegations of former sent-down youth to visit the villages. It also looks at initiatives by county leaders to cultivate financial investment by former sent-down youth, their establishment of sent-down youth museums, and the publication of memoirs by former sent-down youth in their counties.