I received my PhD in Sociology from the University of Umeå, Sweden in 2011. I graduated from the University of Linkoeping, Sweden, with a Master’s Degree in Health and Society (2004), and completed my Bachelor Studies in Sociology and Anthropology at Buea University, Cameroon (2002). My specializations are social inequalities, transnational migration, ethnic relations, conflict studies and qualitative research methods.My dissertation analysed the challenges which African migrants face in their local Swedish context and the transformations they and their communities underwent. I have been lecturing in the department of Communication and Development Studies at the University of Bamenda (UBa), Cameroon since 2016.

My research is motivated by the conspicuous inequalities in the distribution of wealth and power in society and how marginalised individuals and ‘groups’ navigate and respond to this challenge. It is my hope that my research will contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of social inequalities and help to create changes that might address its root causes.

My current research seeks to build on my previous work, exploring further the immigration experiences of African migrants in the Arab Gulf states. The focus is on the trafficking of persons from Cameroon to the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), i.e. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the gender dimensions and dynamics of human trafficking in the context of migration from Cameroon to the GCC. I am also interested in the economic diversification of transnational African migrants in the GCC, i.e.  how African migrants navigate and respond to the forces that enhance or constraints their economic opportunities. Together with Prof. Dr. Michaela Pelican I have authored an article on the labour market experiences of African migrants in Dubai, which is under review with the journal Zeitschrift für Ethnologie. I am also working on an auto-ethnographic piece on ‘bedspace in Dubai’, discussing life in a shared accommodation and African migrants’ playful manners of coping with difficult conditions, turning migrant life into a social adventure.

Ngeh, J. and Michaela Pelican. ‘Intersectionality and the labour market in the United Arab Emirates: the experiences of African migrants’. Submitted to Zeitschrift für Ethnologie (ZFE)

Osanami Törngren, S. and Jonathan Ngeh. (2017). ‘Reversing the gaze: Methodological reflections from the perspective of racial and ethnic minority researchers'. Qualitative Research 18(1) 3-18

Ngeh J. (2011) ‘Conflict, Marginalization and Transformation: African migrants in Sweden’. PhD dissertation, University of Umeå [http://umu.divaportal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:413114]

Ngeh, J. (2011). ‘Cameroonian Students in Higher Swedish Education’ in Annika Egan Sjolander and Jenny Gunnarsson Payne (eds). Tracking Discourses. Politics, Identity, and social Change, Lund: Nordic Academic Press

Ngeh, J. (2009) ‘Challenges and Aspirations of Somali Youth Immigrants in Sweden’ in Gregory Katsas (ed). Sociology in a Changing World: Challenges and Perspectives, Athens: Athens Institute for Education and Research.