Title
Speaking of Home Here and There: Everyday Experiences of Belonging Among Highly Educated Immigrants
Year of Publication
2022
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Document Type
Master's Thesis
College
Arts and Sciences
Department/School/Program
Geography
First Advisor
Dr. Patricia Ehrkamp
Abstract
This thesis explores how highly educated immigrants articulate a sense of belonging upon relocating to the United States, more specifically to the Lexington, KY area. Engaging with feminist political geography as well as migration and cultural studies, I argue that articulations of belonging are framed through transnational attachments, which respectively expand individuals’ ability to employ everyday forms of belonging. Expressions and understandings of transnational belonging are framed through in-depth interviews on participants’ workplace, relational dynamics, and engagement with the geopolitical discourse on migration. Through these interviews, a broader representation belonging is presented, while questions on highly educated immigrants’ privilege and the potential mitigation of anti-immigrant marginalization and bias are explained through the multifarious landscape of transnational belonging, which is further complicated by the particular and intersectional identities of participants.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2022.143
Recommended Citation
Feske-Kirby, Katherine, "Speaking of Home Here and There: Everyday Experiences of Belonging Among Highly Educated Immigrants" (2022). Theses and Dissertations--Geography. 89.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/geography_etds/89