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Remembering Return: Diasporic Identity And The Tabom Community In Accra, Elizabeth Akosua Adobea Danso

Theses - ALL

This thesis examines the historical and cultural significance of the Tabom community in Accra, Ghana, as a case study in diasporic identity, collective memory, and return migration. As descendants of Afro-Brazilian returnees who arrived in the Gold Coast in the early nineteenth century, the Tabom occupy a distinctive position within Ghana's social and historical landscape, navigating multiple cultural affiliations across Brazilian, Yoruba, Hausa, Ga, and Ghanaian identities over generations. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Jamestown, Accra, including semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and oral history collection, this thesis argues that Tabom identity is neither static nor reducible to a singular …

From Farewell To Fáilte: The Voices Of Iowa’S Irish Daughters, Katie Hermanson

History Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

Irish women’s immigration to Iowa brought rich culture and lasting impacts, despite their contributions being silenced by history. Women left Ireland for economic opportunity and education abroad to support their impoverished families. Millions emigrated between 1830 and 1915, spreading across the world. The Irish women who came to the United States encountered discrimination and cultural stereotyping as they worked in domestic service, developed religious orders, taught school, owned businesses and raised families. Women bore the burden of supporting their families in Ireland by sending remittances home and communicating between countries. Their cultural identity as exiles dwelled in guilt for leaving …

Narrating The New Cold War: Investigating Chinese Cyber Propaganda And Sino-American Tensions On Bilibili, William G. Highfill

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis examines Bilibili, a Chinese video-sharing platform originally known for its anime, comics, and gaming (ACG) content, as a critical site for the formation and circulation of nationalist discourse in the context of a “New Cold War” between the United States and China. As ideological rivalry increasingly shifts from traditional state media and military posturing to decentralized digital platforms, Bilibili offers a unique case study in how propaganda evolves in participatory online spaces. Through a combination of digital ethnography and discourse analysis, this research explores how Bilibili’s algorithmic infrastructure, comment culture (弹幕), and remix-oriented design allow users to not …

The Algorithm Of Inclusion: Homonationalism, Queer Advocacy, And Digital Marketing Of Un Ecosoc Ingos And Indian Ngos, Dewansh Chauhan

Master's Theses

Advocacy organizations have increasingly turned to social media as digital platforms become integral to contemporary activism, shaping public discourse and securing institutional legitimacy. This thesis examines the organizational communication of organizations that support marginalized sexualities within a neoliberal and homonationalist context. Employing Critical Content Analysis (CCA), the study analyzes a representative sample of 200 Instagram posts from 2024, comparing two international NGOs with ECOSOC status at the UN (Outright International and ILGA) and two national NGOs in India (Humsafar Trust and Naz Foundation). The findings reveal how homonationalist tendencies may manifest at the intersection of engagement metrics, identity-centric rhetoric, brand …

Full Issue, Palara Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

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Front Matter, Palara Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Palara Guest Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Palara Guest Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Author Bios, Palara Guest Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Diaspora Politics And A Rising China: Ambivalent Ties Amid Geopolitical Changes, Jiaqi M. Liu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Over the past decade, the rise of China on the global stage has witnessed the emergence of members of the Chinese diaspora as new meso-level actors in mediating Sino-Western relations. As part of China’s burgeoning “public diplomacy” around the globe, Chinese migrants organize cultural events to establish grassroots and semi-official exchanges between China and the West. This chapter provides a state-of-the-art examination of so-called “diasporic public diplomacy” whereby the Chinese diaspora plays an increasingly important role in promoting China’s soft power abroad. Based on long-term fieldwork in a prominent emigrant community, I analyse how Chinese national policies envision two specific …

Fluctuating “Indianness” Or “Belonging” : Singapore Indian Dancers And Their Encounter With Southeast Asia At Ramayana Festival, Yoshiaki Takemura

Asian Review

This article investigates the dynamic relationship between cultural heritage and regional identity among the Indian diaspora in Singapore, specifically focusing on the experiences of classical Indian dancers. Historically, the process of “Indianization” deeply influenced the cultural landscape of Southeast Asia, evidenced by the regional prominence of the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Using the context of a regional Ramayana Festival, this paper analyzes how Singaporean Indian dancers, while performing art forms rooted in the Indian subcontinent, negotiate their identity when confronted with diverse Southeast Asian interpretations of the same epic narrative.The study argues that this encounter forces a …

Kamala Harris As Durga: United States Presidential Elections And The Goddess In The Imagination Of Hindu Diaspora, Anisha Saxena

Wagadu: A Journal of Transnational Women's & Gender Studies

The Hindu diaspora in the United States has been one of the most educated and highest earning immigrant groups. They exert considerable influence in the arenas of culture, economy and recently politics. They are attempting to institutionalize Hinduism and “educate” Americans about the religion through creation of lobby groups and the use of social media. Motivated by these recent developments, the article examines the processes of creation, reimagination, and consumption of images of the South Asian goddess in the public sphere, and how these images are perceived by the Hindu diaspora.

Summary Report Of Discussions At The Ana Forum 2024, Berkeley, Ca “How Can The North American Nepali Diaspora Contribute To Nepal’S Economic Development?”,, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

The ANA 2024 annual convention, organized on ANA’s 42nd founding anniversary, was held in the San Francisco Bay Area (Berkeley and Oakland) in California, where hundreds of ANA members and friends had gathered. The convention consisted of several forums, sessions, and cultural programs. As always, the convention included a Nepal-related forum “How Can the North American Nepali Diaspora Contribute to Nepal’s Economic Development?” The Forum took place from 1:30-2:30 pm on Saturday July 20, 2024. Four panelists, including the moderator, spoke at the forum. About 45-50 individuals attended the session. Guest panelist, Dr. Minendra Rijal sent a message as he …

Acculturation And Intimate Partner Violence Among Kenyans In The United States, Max J. Stein, Peter Ndiang’Ui, Eunice Menja

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is abuse by a partner or spouse. This study focused on IPV among Kenyan immigrants to the United States. Several studies reported connections between IPV and cultural tensions experienced during the acculturation process. Scholars disagree whether acculturation buffers against IPV by exposing immigrants to adaptive social norms or heightens risk factors among those facing challenges acclimating to new settings. Whereas this association has been researched among Latinx and Asian communities in the United States, it is understudied among African and especially Kenyan diasporas. This descriptive study explored how acculturation and IPV among U.S. Kenyans were experienced …

Rethinking The Inclusionary Potential Of Religious Institutions: The Case Of Gurdwaras In Singapore, Siew Ying Shee, Orlando Woods

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Whilst Singapore’s Sikh community is relatively small, it is also heterogeneous. Its diversity reflects differences in ancestral and socio-economic backgrounds. As spaces of worship that regularly bring together the Sikh community in space and time, Sikh temples—gurdwaras––are often conceived as important places through which a shared sense of religiously-defined community is reproduced. Yet, as much as religion can provide a bridge that integrates people of different ethnic, racial, national, and linguistic groups into a single faith community, so too can it act as a buttress through which differences and divisions are enforced within the community. We argue that whilst gurdwaras …

Current Developmental Challenges In Nepal: How Can The Diaspora Help?, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepal now enjoys a unique opportunity to positively transform the country’s economy and society. The economic activities fueled by remittance, supported by foreign aid, and aided by domestic economic activities such as tourism, trade, and services, including start-ups, are helping increase individual incomes. However, the earnings from remittances, which measure to about 25% of Nepal’s GDP, are spent on consumer goods and not on investments that can generate employment and raise the standards of living. The foreign aid is often donor driven and also not always well managed and wisely spent on national priorities. Further, it is frequently marred by …

Renewing A Nation: The Impact Of The African Diaspora On The African American Family, Culture And The Black Church, Lolita R. Gilmore-Randall

Doctor of Ministry

Despite the notion the past can never be removed, disassembled or altered, variant versions of African American history continue to serve as a fluid document in time without accountability, acknowledgement, or consciousness of the liabilities associated with the African diaspora. Studies show an estimated 12.5 million African men, women, and children were forcibly transported as part of the transatlantic slave trade, an egregious act that remains impactful to this day. African Americans represent 12% of the American population, but constitute 2.3 million, or 34%, of the total 6.8 million in correctional facilities. Though African American children make up 14% of …

Full Issue, Palara Guest Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, Palara Guest Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Introduction, Palara Guest Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Author Bios, Palara Guest Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

From "Sea Turtles" To "Grassroots Ambassadors": The Chinese Politics Of Outbound Student Migration, Jiaqi M. Liu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

International student migration/mobility (ISM) has long come under the spotlight in migration and education studies. Previous research has focused primarily on inbound students in Western host countries, with much less attention on sending countries’ policies. Based on evidence from interviews, ethnography, and policy analysis in China, the world’s largest source country of student migrants, I argue that outbound student migration can be integrated into the home country’s broader diaspora politics to serve economic, governmental, and geopolitical policy objectives. These diverse, sometimes-clashing, interests are predicated upon China’s domestic politics and global positioning. To establish a conceptual bridge between ISM and diaspora …

Cultivation, Conflict, And Consumption: Food Systems In Syria, 1920–1946, Sara Pekow

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines Syria during the French Mandate using food as a primary unit of analysis. The exploration of food pushes this project beyond the boundaries of political and diplomatic histories of Syria during the French Mandate, bringing forward the hidden voices of the nonelite. Nonelites are often not visible in archives, but their absence in most written sources permits us to ascertain their experiences in studying the materials that comprised their everyday lives. The sources consulted for this work include memoirs, print media, and state archives, to name a few.

Each chapter of this dissertation follows a different link …

El Uso Del Espanglish En Escuelas Como Una Expresión De La Identidad De La Tercera Cultura, Isabella N. Yeager

Global Tides

Este artículo analiza la conexión entre el fenómeno lingüístico del “espanglish” y el concepto sociológico de la identidad de la tercera cultura en el contexto del uso del cambio de código y el translenguaje por parte de los estudiantes de primaria. Busca demostrar que el espanglish es una expresión única de una identidad cultural híbrida, así como un léxico híbrido. Aunque la pedagogía convencional a veces puede buscar compartimentar cada idioma, la investigación que presenta este estudio demuestra que el contacto lingüístico entre el inglés y el español en el aula y más allá a menudo sirve no como una …

2022 Iggad Conference Program, Charles Joyner Institute For Gullah And African Diaspora Studies

IGGAD Conference Programs

Program of the 2022 IGGAD Conference: Who Owns This? Communities, Heritage, and Preservation.

No. 85: Pandemic Food Precarity, Crisis-Living And Translocality: Zimbabwean Migrant Households In South Africa During Covid-19, Sujata Ramachandran, Jonathan Crush, Godfrey Tawodzera, Elizabeth Opiyo Onyango

Southern African Migration Programme

COVID-19 has been a great disrupter of international migration and a social and economic disaster for migrants. The findings in this report come from a household survey conducted by SAMP in mid-2021 in the South African cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg. The report argues that years of crisis-living in a hyperinflationary environment in Zimbabwe left many households in a pre-pandemic state of food insecurity and vulnerable to the pandemic shock. At the same time, the COVID-19 crisis reduced the ability of Zimbabwean migrant households in South Africa to assist family back in Zimbabwe. As well as contributing to greater …

Call For 2022 Issue // Palara Publication Guidelines, The Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, The Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

Front Matter, The Editors

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

No abstract provided.

On The Struggles And Experiences Of Southeast Asian American Academics, Long T. Bui

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

This article examines Southeast Asian Americans (SEAA) academics in the U.S. academy, relating their complex positionalities within higher education to their communities and societies. While many educational studies have been done on SEAA students, almost none focus on professional scholars and college faculty. Combining cultural-structural critique with close analysis of public writings and personal interviews, the article finds that that SEAA are ignored, and/or tokenized in the Ivory Tower due to structural as well as epistemological issues. It indicates that the public discourse and policies about Southeast Asians in academia not only neglects racial and class hierarchies, but obscures issues …