This dissertation is an exploration of the creative spaces often opened up by exile and forced migration, where Southern Sudanese negotiate and perform new forms of belonging and affiliation, while simultaneously (re)producing, ‘local’ practices in order to reaffirm and solidify existing relationships and identity categories. Through my examination of the creative spaces opened up by migration and exile, I also raise questions related to broader concerns in the field of forced migration and refugee studies regarding the need to problematize the often binary distinction between forced and voluntary migrants, which often places refugees in a category stripped of agency and choice. Based on 20 months of multi-sited field work in Calgary, Canada and Juba, South Sudan and exploring issues related community organization and shifting forms of affiliation, long distance nation building, transnational marriage and return migration, this dissertation demonstrates how settling-in and place-making involve both material and moral aspects of practice, and that refugees, regardless of the “forced” nature of their migration, are active agents in this process.

Cultural identity today has become deterritorialized. As mass migration, mobility and interconnectivity between peoples and regions have increased, connections to geographical roots have loosened. People today are enmeshed in multiple spatial contexts, their past and present associations all contribute to shaping an identity that reaches beyond territorial boundaries. Being simultaneously a part of and apart from a multitude of places allows for identity to be situational and hybrid, between categorization. To examine the fluidity of identity and its relationship to the built environment, this investigation focuses specifically around the Indian diaspora, tracing the relationship between people and place within their homeland, through transition, and after settling in a new hostland. While definitions of nationalism typically involve identifying ethnic commonalities within a state, the Indian nation unites in a celebration of disparity. As India developed as a home to numerous languages, social hierarchies and belief systems, it has struggled to form a coherent national narrative. The overseas Indian community amplifies this dilemma as they are confronted with further multiplicity in a foreign environment. The result is a gap that prevents the Indian diaspora from fully connecting to both homeland and hostland, situating them in a space of the in-between. Rather than attempting to bridge this gap, this investigation chronicles the reasons for its existence and offers an observatory as a space in the built environment where the gulf between cultural identities can be explored.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2002. / Title from title screen (viewed 27 March 2008). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of Anthropology, Faculty of Arts. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2007. / "Graduate Program in Geography." Includes bibliographical references (p. 298-312).

Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-224). Also available online in ProQuest, free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2006. / Title from title screen. Kathryn A. Kozaitis, committee chair; Emanuela Guano, Cassandra White, committee members. Electronic text (207 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed May 15, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 196-203).

The study of Latinos in the Midwestern United States is still a largely under researched territory. Until the early 2000s, the only major sources of information about Latinos in the Midwest came from surveys done in the early 20th century that investigated patterns of Mexican immigration and labor (Martinez 2011:3,4). With the influx of more Latin@s from multiple countries of origin, researchers have expanded their topics to include issues on assimilation, transnationalism, and identity (Saenz 2011: 33-34). However, these studies paint the immigrant population as affected by the host society without consideration for how the host society may be influenced by them (Tello Buntin 2011: 228). Another issue in the literature is that Latinos are consistently categorized by language, specifically Spanish (Saenz 2011: 36. 37). For this research, I am investigating the ways that Mexican community members talk about language and identity within the context of living in CC-town, Illinois. In general, this project explores what identities are being indexed by Mexican family members living in the town and how they index their identities through language.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / English / Master / Master of Philosophy