
Overview
Background
I am a social anthropologist specialising in migration, refugee protection, and religious politics in Southeast Asia, with particular expertise in Malaysia's treatment of displaced populations and Muslim identity formation. My research combines ethnographic fieldwork with policy analysis to understand how states, communities, and individuals navigate questions of belonging, protection, and cultural identity.
Academic Background I hold a PhD in anthropology and sociology from La Trobe University, with previous degrees in Social Anthropology and Politics/International Relations from the University of Kent. I was an Australian Research Council DECRA research fellow (2014-2017) and the Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Fellow on Contemporary Southeast Asia (2023-2024), spending time at the National University of Singapore and Stanford University's Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center.
Research Focus My work spans political anthropology, development studies and migration studies, with particular focus on:
- Refugee and immigration policy in Southeast Asia
- Religion-state relations and Muslim identity politics
- Urban refugee experiences and protection frameworks
- Faith and spirituality in the modern world
- Participant observation methodology in sensitive research contexts
Publications and Engagement I am author of Modern Muslim Identities: Negotiating Religion and Ethnicity in Malaysia (NIAS Press) and co-editor of volumes on human security and urban refugees published by Allen & Unwin/Routledge. As a regular media commentator and course director for UQ's MOOC "World101x: Anthropology of Current World Issues," I translate academic research for broader audiences through traditional and digital platforms.
Availability
- Associate Professor Gerhard Hoffstaedter is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Arts, University of Kent
- Masters (Coursework), University of Kent
- Doctor of Philosophy, La Trobe University
Research impacts
Policy Influence and Community Support My research on refugee protection and Muslim identity politics directly shapes policy discussions and community responses to critical issues in Southeast Asia. Through regular media appearances and volunteer work with refugee organisations, I translate academic findings into actionable insights that inform advocacy efforts and improve service delivery for vulnerable populations. My fieldwork with Rohingya and other refugee communities provides evidence-based research that NGOs and policymakers use to push for improved protection frameworks.
Democratizing Knowledge and Education As co-founder of the Melbourne Free University and contributor to the Brisbane Free University, I champion accessible education beyond traditional academic boundaries. My free Massive Open Online Course on anthropology of current world issues has reached thousands of global learners, while my free Introduction to Social Sciences, YouTube interview series with anthropologists and panel discussions with UQ anthropologists make specialist knowledge accessible to broader audiences. These platforms demonstrate measurable impact in breaking down barriers to higher education.
Shaping Academic Practice and Public Understanding My methodological contributions, particularly on participant observation in religious studies, influence how researchers approach sensitive fieldwork across multiple disciplines. Through sustained public engagement via radio, television, and digital platforms, I help non-academic audiences understand complex issues around migration, identity, and religious politics in contemporary Southeast Asia, fostering informed public discourse on critical regional challenges.
Works
Search Professor Gerhard Hoffstaedter’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2024
Journal Article
Graves beyond the waves: enforced strandedness and the impossibility of place-making in the Andaman Sea
Hoffstaedter, Gerhard and Missbach, Antje (2024). Graves beyond the waves: enforced strandedness and the impossibility of place-making in the Andaman Sea. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 50 (8), 2063-2077. doi: 10.1080/1369183x.2022.2110457
Featured
2023
Book
Introduction to the Social Sciences
Staines, Zoe, Hoffstaedter, Gerhard and Binnie, Ned (2023). Introduction to the Social Sciences. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/3e239ee
Featured
2020
Other Outputs
“There we are nothing, here we are nothing!”: the enduring effects of Rohingya persecution and genocide in Myanmar and on lives in the diaspora
O’Brien, Melanie and Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2020, 12 16). “There we are nothing, here we are nothing!”: the enduring effects of Rohingya persecution and genocide in Myanmar and on lives in the diaspora The Andaman Sea Crisis: 5 years on
Featured
2017
Journal Article
Refugees, Islam, and the State: the role of religion in providing sanctuary in Malaysia
Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2017). Refugees, Islam, and the State: the role of religion in providing sanctuary in Malaysia. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, 15 (3), 287-304. doi: 10.1080/15562948.2017.1302033
Featured
2011
Book
Modern Muslim identities: Negotiating religion and ethnicity in Malaysia
Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2011). Modern Muslim identities: Negotiating religion and ethnicity in Malaysia. Copenhagen, Denmark: NIAS Press.
2025
Book Chapter
The (un)official refugee protection regimes in Malaysia: what is the way forward?
Hoffstaedter, Gerhard and Jalil, Aslam Abd (2025). The (un)official refugee protection regimes in Malaysia: what is the way forward?. Refugee protection in Southeast Asia: between humanitarianism and sovereignty. (pp. 159-182) New York, NY, United States: Berghahn Books. doi: 10.1515/9781805397823-012
2024
Book Chapter
Refugee protection in non-signatory states: activism for and by refugees in Malaysia and Indonesia
Missbach, Antje and Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2024). Refugee protection in non-signatory states: activism for and by refugees in Malaysia and Indonesia. Handbook on Border Criminology. (pp. 354-368) Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781035307982.00034
2024
Book Chapter
Survival and deferred place-making at sea: Onboard socialities of Vietnamese and Rohingya Boatpeople
Missbach, Antje and Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2024). Survival and deferred place-making at sea: Onboard socialities of Vietnamese and Rohingya Boatpeople. (Un)Settling Place: Diverse and Divergent Place-Making of People on the Move. (pp. 154-174) Berghahn Books. doi: 10.1515/9781805398127-010
2024
Other Outputs
The sea within
Bala, Mahen and Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2024, 08 01). The sea within Mekong Review 30-30.
2024
Book Chapter
Seeking justice beyond the platform economy: migrant workers navigating precarious lives
Riordan, Tyler, Robinson, Richard N.S. and Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2024). Seeking justice beyond the platform economy: migrant workers navigating precarious lives. Tourism, Global Crises and Justice. (pp. 128-145) London: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003492610-10
2024
Journal Article
Refugee Registration Schemes in Malaysia : Governing Refugees by Maintaining the Status Quo and Reinforcing Borders
Jalil, Aslam Abd and Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2024). Refugee Registration Schemes in Malaysia : Governing Refugees by Maintaining the Status Quo and Reinforcing Borders. Migration and Society, 7 (1), 46-61. doi: 10.3167/arms.2024.070106
2024
Other Outputs
Humanising food delivery work in Australia: a toolkit
Riordan, Tyler, Robinson, Richard N.S. and Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2024). Humanising food delivery work in Australia: a toolkit. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: UQ Business School.
2024
Journal Article
Neoliberal temporalities and expertise in migration governance
Riva, Sara, Altman, Tess and Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2024). Neoliberal temporalities and expertise in migration governance. Migration and Society, 7 (1), 1-11. doi: 10.3167/ARMS.2024.070103
2023
Book Chapter
Seeking justice beyond the platform economy: migrant workers navigating precarious lives
Riordan, Tyler, Robinson, Richard N.S. and Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2023). Seeking justice beyond the platform economy: migrant workers navigating precarious lives. A Sustainable Tourism Workforce. (pp. 92-109) London: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003435457-6
2023
Book Chapter
People smuggling in Southeast Asia: Rohingya and Chin stories of agency, freedom, and power in cross-border movement
Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2023). People smuggling in Southeast Asia: Rohingya and Chin stories of agency, freedom, and power in cross-border movement. Global human smuggling: buying freedom in a retreating world. (pp. 290-307) edited by Luigi Achilli and David Kyle. Baltimore, MD, United States: Johns Hopkins University Press.
2023
Journal Article
How the hyper-securitisation of Muslims in Malaysia is dividing society
Hoffstaedter, Gerhard and Abd Jalil, Aslam (2023). How the hyper-securitisation of Muslims in Malaysia is dividing society. Melbourne Asia Review, 15. doi: 10.37839/mar2652-550x15.10
2023
Journal Article
Malaysia at 60: the urgency of inclusion
Hoffstaedter, Gerhard, Saigaran, Nithiya Guna, Ilana, Nadira, Hooi, Khoo Ying and Abd Jalil, Aslam (2023, 07 06). Malaysia at 60: the urgency of inclusion New Mandala
2023
Journal Article
The effects of COVID-19 on refugees in peninsular Malaysia: surveillance, securitization, and eviction
Abd Jalil, Aslam and Hoffstaedter, Gerhard (2023). The effects of COVID-19 on refugees in peninsular Malaysia: surveillance, securitization, and eviction. Advances in Southeast Asian Studies, 16 (1), 79-99. doi: 10.14764/10.ASEAS-0088
2023
Other Outputs
Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) Snapshot Report 1
Povey, J., Burger, S-A., Marshall, D., Lee, R., Lattz, M., O'Donnell, K., Young, C., Hoffstaedter, G., San Martin Porter, M., Austerberry, S., Nuttall, G., Baxter, J. and McDaid, L. (2023). Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) Snapshot Report 1. Brisbane, Australia: Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland.
2023
Conference Publication
Community Support Program (CSP) Findings Workshop: Snapshot 1
Povey, Jenny, Burger, Sarah-Ann, O'Donnell, Karlee, Young, Charlotte, San Martin Porter, Macarena, Marshall, David, Lee, Rennie, Lattz, Miguel, Hoffstaedter, Gerhard and Austerberry, Sophie (2023). Community Support Program (CSP) Findings Workshop: Snapshot 1. Findings Workshop for the Department of Home Affairs, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 22 March 2023. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Institute for Social Science Research.
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Gerhard Hoffstaedter is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
-
Refugees, statelessness and migration in Southeast Asia
-
Resettlement of refugees in Australia
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Master Philosophy
Fighting and Fleeing: Resistance within the International Movement Regime
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Morgan Brigg
-
Doctor Philosophy
Spiritual healing and its impact on mental health: A comparative analysis of Australia and the Solomon Islands
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jenny Munro
-
Doctor Philosophy
Technologies of Presence: Practices of Mediation among Pentecostals in Queensland
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ryan Williams, Associate Professor Tom Aechtner
-
Doctor Philosophy
Religion and Spirituality in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ryan Williams
Completed supervision
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
(Inter)national Interfaith: Navigating politics, faith, and morality in a transnational interfaith organisation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ryan Williams
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Narrating Tibetanness through Movement and Being Moved: Performative Testimonies and Affective Solidarities in an Australian Tibetan Community
Principal Advisor
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
The Right to Work for Refugees in Malaysia: Protection, Livelihoods, and Dignity
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Greg Marston
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Typhoon Haiyan Disaster Recovery in the Philippines: An Analysis of the Role of Faith in the Aid Encounter between Faith-based, Secular Non-governmental Organisations and Affected Communities
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Adjunct Professor Adil Khan
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
`This is My Hobby': Border Militias, Moral Assemblages, and the Comfort to Act
Principal Advisor
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Murri Courts: An ethnography of Indigenous sentencing courts in Southeast Queensland, Australia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sally Babidge
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Mediated hospitality: how migrant workers navigate interactions in and beyond the platform economy
Associate Advisor
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Everything that we do is for Allah: Gender Politics and Islamic Family Law Reform in Malaysia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Nicole George
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Identity in an Australian Jewish community: an ethnography of public and private Jewish life in South-East Queensland
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor David Trigger
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Performing Silat in Malaysian Diasporic Communities in Australia: A Cultural Heritage Analysis of Identities, Performance and Self
Associate Advisor
Media
Enquiries
Contact Associate Professor Gerhard Hoffstaedter directly for media enquiries about:
- Chin
- Development aid
- identity politics
- Immigration
- Irregular migration
- Islam
- Malaysian politics
- Political anthropology
- Refugee politics
- Refugees
- Religion and development
- Rohingya
- Southeast Asian politics
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