xi, 195 p. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: KNIGHT B105.T73 B37 2007 / This dissertation seeks to recover a notion of agency for those who are caught in the interstices of transnational relationships, which are generally determined by practices of globalization. I examine notions of travel and home as corollary concepts that have been used metaphorically to describe the nature of the multicultural subject. Travel and home both highlight the sense of displacement caused by global capitalist markets as well as the capacity to remake and envision a new community. In this light, travel and home are understood as interpretive processes that guide social transformation in an increasingly multicultural world. I first consider philosophical conceptions of the cosmopolitan self proposed by theorists who work on travel and diaspora. I then use this critical examination as a springboard for thinking about transnational identities, emphasizing themes of home and community as fundamental components for developing a conception of a multicultural self These themes also set the stage for a further consideration of multicultural selves in the context of feminist care ethics and a metaphysics of belonging. In a discussion of feminist care ethics, I examine care by highlighting the transnational relationships that connect one's concrete caring practice to a global context. In order to articulate a metaphysics of belonging. I turn to the work of Josiah Royce and his notion of the "betweenness" relation as it emerges in his theories of provincialism, loyalty and community. This relation becomes the framework for a new understanding of multicultural selves in a transnational context. In extending this analysis to the political context. I consider how a "betweenness" framework emerges through corollary processes of "world-traveling" conceived by María Lugones and "home-making" as theorized by Yen Li Espiritu in establishing transnational feminist communities. I end this dissertation by pointing out new directions in conceiving how a transnational framework might address the political challenges posed by indigenous claims to sovereignty against Asian American practices of settlement. Ultimately, I intend to show how a transnational framework can be a fruitful resource in conceptualizing the multicultural self who can respond to colonialism and oppression in an increasingly globalized world. / Adviser: Scott Pratt

Nesta tese, analiso o processo de difusão e construção de identidades transnacionais da capoeira angola. Por meio de uma metodologia mista envolvendo reconstituição histórica e etnografia multissituada, busco entender as disputas políticas nas quais os discursos sobre a tradição da capoeira angola foram elaborados, paralelamente à sua difusão espaço-geográfica e a formação de seu mercado cultural transnacional. Discuto a configuração transnacional da capoeira angola baseado na descrição e na análise das conexões entre diferentes núcleos de capoeira angola situados nas cidades brasileiras de Salvador, Curitiba e Porto Alegre, e das cidades europeias de Varsóvia, Paris, Viena e Lisboa. O estudo traz à tona a existência de uma geopolítica nativa pautadaem valores "afrocêntricos" em oposição ao êmicamente reconhecido como "eurocentrismo". Concluo sugerindo que a configuração transnacional da capoeira angola contemporânea expressa uma forma desensibilização global acerca de questões sociais, políticas e econômicas que redefine a hierarquia geopolítica ("centro" e "periferia") legada pelo processo de colonização. / The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the process of diffusion and construction of capoeira angola transnational identities. Through a multimethod research involving historical reconstruction and multi-situated ethnography, I try to understand political controversies, in which discourses about the capoeira angola tradition have been developedin parallel both to its geographical spread and to the constitution of its transnational cultural market. I do discuss the capoeira angola transnational configuration, based on the description and the analysis between different capoeira angola groups, located in the Brazilian cities of Salvador, Curitiba and Porto Alegre and the European cities of Warsaw, Paris, Vienna and Lisbon. The study shows the existence of a native political geo-economy based on "afro-centric" values in opposition to what is emicly called "eurocentrism". I conclude suggesting that the configuration of contemporaneous capoeira angola, expresses a kind of global consciousness regarding social, political and economic issues which redefines the geo-politic hierarchy (center and periphery) inherited from the colonialism.

There are a growing number of continental African immigrants in the United States who are changing the face of Black identity and politics in the USA. Whereas this group is largely invisible to mainstream media, they are visible in online diasporic media. However, there has been very little research done on this group. In addition, scholars and policy makers are concerned that that diasporic media may erode people's sense of nationalism and their level of integration into the host society. Isolation of these communities could lead to potential conflict with mainstream society. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the following questions: (a) How do Kenyans domiciled in the United States construct their collective identity in online discourse? (b) What topics dominate the online discussions of the Kenyan diaspora in the United States? (c) How is the relationship between the host nation and the migrant community portrayed in these websites? (d) What does the online discourse reflect about the interests, concerns and positions of the diaspora on issues in the homeland? (e) How are Kenyan migrants perceived by fellow Kenyans in their homeland, within website commentary? These questions were investigated based on theories of media, diaspora, identity and globalization. The researcher selected three websites created and patronized by Kenyans living in the USA based on their internet traffic ranking. The texts were then analyzed using Wodak's discourse historical analysis (DHA). The results show that Kenyans participating in the diaspora websites studied construct various identities in their website talk. These identities ranged from essentialist and cultural identities that support the status quo, to hybrid identities that indicate various levels of integration into the host society. The results also indicate new forms of identification that differ from U.S. and Kenyan official designations of identity and represent active resistance to dominant discourses. Among these emerging identities were "new Americans", "African born Americans", and "Kenyan born Americans." Women in particular use the discourse of freedom drawn from the host culture, to express their new identities in the diaspora in ways that challenge Kenyan male cultural dominance. The relationship between migrants and the host US culture was largely positive; however, some migrants described negative experiences involving depression, difficulty in adjustment to work place cultural values, and racial discrimination. Many expressed concerns about the slow pace of immigration reforms in the USA and that the discussions overly focused on Mexican immigrants. These results have several implications. First, this study supports theories of diaspora, media and globalization with findings based on empirical research. In particular, it supports the theory that migrants construct hybrid, multiple and transitional identities in their media. The study expands our knowledge by relating the migrant online texts to the broader local and global contexts. Second, the results call attention to the need for U.S. policy makers and politicians to consider expanding the discussions of immigration reform to involve non-Mexican immigrants in the framing of immigration policy. It also points out that many of the African immigrants are elites or professionals and they can be beneficial to U.S. foreign policy initiatives and the economy. As far as Kenyan policy makers are concerned, the study suggests that the frequency and fervency of migrant ethnic identifications is a challenge to the government's construction of a common national and cultural identity. This demands change in the way the Kenyan government communicates about ethnicity and nationalism. The study recommends several areas of further study.

Nesta tese, analiso o processo de difusão e construção de identidades transnacionais da capoeira angola. Por meio de uma metodologia mista envolvendo reconstituição histórica e etnografia multissituada, busco entender as disputas políticas nas quais os discursos sobre a tradição da capoeira angola foram elaborados, paralelamente à sua difusão espaço-geográfica e a formação de seu mercado cultural transnacional. Discuto a configuração transnacional da capoeira angola baseado na descrição e na análise das conexões entre diferentes núcleos de capoeira angola situados nas cidades brasileiras de Salvador, Curitiba e Porto Alegre, e das cidades europeias de Varsóvia, Paris, Viena e Lisboa. O estudo traz à tona a existência de uma geopolítica nativa pautadaem valores "afrocêntricos" em oposição ao êmicamente reconhecido como "eurocentrismo". Concluo sugerindo que a configuração transnacional da capoeira angola contemporânea expressa uma forma desensibilização global acerca de questões sociais, políticas e econômicas que redefine a hierarquia geopolítica ("centro" e "periferia") legada pelo processo de colonização. / The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the process of diffusion and construction of capoeira angola transnational identities. Through a multimethod research involving historical reconstruction and multi-situated ethnography, I try to understand political controversies, in which discourses about the capoeira angola tradition have been developedin parallel both to its geographical spread and to the constitution of its transnational cultural market. I do discuss the capoeira angola transnational configuration, based on the description and the analysis between different capoeira angola groups, located in the Brazilian cities of Salvador, Curitiba and Porto Alegre and the European cities of Warsaw, Paris, Vienna and Lisbon. The study shows the existence of a native political geo-economy based on "afro-centric" values in opposition to what is emicly called "eurocentrism". I conclude suggesting that the configuration of contemporaneous capoeira angola, expresses a kind of global consciousness regarding social, political and economic issues which redefines the geo-politic hierarchy (center and periphery) inherited from the colonialism.

Nesta tese, analiso o processo de difusão e construção de identidades transnacionais da capoeira angola. Por meio de uma metodologia mista envolvendo reconstituição histórica e etnografia multissituada, busco entender as disputas políticas nas quais os discursos sobre a tradição da capoeira angola foram elaborados, paralelamente à sua difusão espaço-geográfica e a formação de seu mercado cultural transnacional. Discuto a configuração transnacional da capoeira angola baseado na descrição e na análise das conexões entre diferentes núcleos de capoeira angola situados nas cidades brasileiras de Salvador, Curitiba e Porto Alegre, e das cidades europeias de Varsóvia, Paris, Viena e Lisboa. O estudo traz à tona a existência de uma geopolítica nativa pautadaem valores "afrocêntricos" em oposição ao êmicamente reconhecido como "eurocentrismo". Concluo sugerindo que a configuração transnacional da capoeira angola contemporânea expressa uma forma desensibilização global acerca de questões sociais, políticas e econômicas que redefine a hierarquia geopolítica ("centro" e "periferia") legada pelo processo de colonização. / The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the process of diffusion and construction of capoeira angola transnational identities. Through a multimethod research involving historical reconstruction and multi-situated ethnography, I try to understand political controversies, in which discourses about the capoeira angola tradition have been developedin parallel both to its geographical spread and to the constitution of its transnational cultural market. I do discuss the capoeira angola transnational configuration, based on the description and the analysis between different capoeira angola groups, located in the Brazilian cities of Salvador, Curitiba and Porto Alegre and the European cities of Warsaw, Paris, Vienna and Lisbon. The study shows the existence of a native political geo-economy based on "afro-centric" values in opposition to what is emicly called "eurocentrism". I conclude suggesting that the configuration of contemporaneous capoeira angola, expresses a kind of global consciousness regarding social, political and economic issues which redefines the geo-politic hierarchy (center and periphery) inherited from the colonialism.