............................................................................................................................. iii Dedication ........................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. vi Chapter 1: General Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 Background ................................................................................................................... 5 Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................. 7 Purpose of Study ......................................................................................................... 12 Significance of Study .................................................................................................. 13 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 15 Delimitation ................................................................................................................ 15 Organization of Study ................................................................................................. 16 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 19 A Framework of In-betweeness: A Theoretical Positioning ....................................... 19 Global colonialism and constructing transnational subjectivities: A global ......... 19 cultural process. .................................................................................................... 19 Transnational complexities and diasporas. ..................................................... 20 African women as cultural remitters. .............................................................. 24 African diasporas and cultural transmittance. ................................................. 28 Diasporas, African women’s cultural work, and media. ................................. 29 Digital diasporas and African women’s work: A politics of aesthetics. ......... 32 African Women, Diasporas, and Gendered Issues ...................................................... 36 Identity, Cultural Brokers, and Cultural Reentry ........................................................ 38 Colonialism and Gender: Transnational Gender Constructions ................................. 43 Gender in African Societies ........................................................................................ 47 Religion. ................................................................................................................ 54 Social Constructivism ................................................................................................. 56 Finding Middle-ground, Crossing Boundaries ........................................................... 62 Distribution of the Sensible ........................................................................................ 63 Identity and In-betweeness ......................................................................................... 68 Aesthetics as Forms of Resistance and Identity Articulation ..................................... 70 ix Aesthetics of in-betweeness: Hybridity, conviviality, and intempestivity. .......... 74 African women’s politics of aesthetics as dissensus. ............................................ 79 Methods of protest. ............................................................................................... 80 A Transnational, Postcolonial Feminist Approach of In-betweeness ......................... 83 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 88 Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................... 89 Positioning Myself ...................................................................................................... 91 Research Design .......................................................................................................... 94 Media Theory and Method.......................................................................................... 95 Data Sources ............................................................................................................... 98 The web series. ...................................................................................................... 99 Interviews. ........................................................................................................... 101 In-depth interview: Self-articulation. ............................................................ 101 Focus group discussions: Transnational sites. .............................................. 104 Interview analysis. .............................................................................................. 107 Other Data ................................................................................................................. 108 Summary ................................................................................................................... 108 Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion ............................................................................... 110 The Creator and Co-producer ................................................................................... 110 Five Returnees .......................................................................................................... 114 Articulating Independence: Navigating Gender Relations ....................................... 120 Articulating independence. ................................................................................. 120 Living single. ................................................................................................ 121 Consequences for articulating independence through house ownership. ........... 126 Trophy men. ........................................................................................................ 132 Defining the trophy man. .............................................................................. 133 Policing the Female Body: Obsession with Etiquette ............................................... 134 Sexual Harassment .................................................................................................... 137 Education is not enough for women. .................................................................. 140 Portrayal of Men: All Men Are Bad ......................................................................... 141 Navigating dicey relationships. ........................................................................... 141 Articulating Independence Through Sexual Expression ........................................... 145 Proximity to the West: Pejorative Construction of Other Ghanaians ....................... 149 x Distanciation: Recreating the West in the postcolony. ....................................... 153 Distanciation through stereotypes. ...................................................................... 159 Only Africans take dumps. ........................................................................... 159 Bureaucracy and corruption. ......................................................................... 159 Distanciation through double standards/double bind. ......................................... 160 Articulation Through Dress and Style ...................................................................... 161 Navigating Cultural Differences in the Home Country Upon Reentry ..................... 165 Intra-gender Relations: Women are Not Their Worst Enemies ................................ 167 Defining the Ideal Women: Can You Cook Jollof Rice? ......................................... 170 Religious Ambivalence ............................................................................................. 173 Empowering the Ghanaian Woman .......................................................................... 174 Summary ................................................................................................................... 176 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................................. 178 Summary of Findings ................................................................................................ 179 (re)Framing female independence and dependence. ........................................... 179 Development and Diasporan Studies ........................................................................ 179 On Feminism ............................................................................................................. 181 Becoming Ghanaian .................................................................................................. 184 An African City and Bechdel Test ............................................................................ 185 Limitations of the Study............................................................................................ 186 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 187 References ....................................................................................................................... 188 Appendix A: List of An African City Episodes .............................................................. 213 Appendix B: In-depth Interview Guide .......................................................................... 214 Appendix C: Recruitment Text for In-depth Interviews ................................................. 215 Appendix D: Focus Group Interview Guide ........

background

1. Globalization: a contested concept

Transnational Media Articulations of Ghanaian Women: Mapping Shifting Returnee Identities in an Online Web Series

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Exploring the Impact of Globalization on Linguistic Culture

In a globalized world, the recent developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs) and transportation have facilitated international migration in ways that have led to great increases in this type of migration over the last decades. In the host country migrants are influenced by new cultural impulses that are different from the ones in their homeland. Over time, these may be incorporated into the migrants’ cultural identities and as time passes, the migrants may start to identify with more and more aspects of the host culture, creating a belonging to the new country. By adopting a transnational lens, the objective of this thesis is to examine how transnational migrants’ cultural identity is challenged, negotiated and formed through the use of modern ICTs that allow for frequent communication with homeland relations. This was done by investigating the role of ICTs in the migrants’ practices of ways of being in and ways of belonging to transnational social fields and the research questions that have been discussed and answered are as follows:1)What is the role of transnational communication networks and technologies in identity formation?Can gender differences be identified?2)Can today’s extensive use of information and communication technologies show that migrants maintain more of their ‘old’ identities?Are identities gendered?It is found that ICTs play a large role in the identity formation of transnational migrants and that migrants who live transnational lives constantly (re)negotiate and form transnational identities in relation to their respective social fields. In addition, analyses show that ICTs available today facilitate both practices of ways of being (transnational communication) and ways of belonging (identity-conscious practices) in transnational social fields, and may indeed contribute to the maintenance of more of migrants’ ‘old’ identities. The migrants are anchored in both transnational social fields and are rational actors that actively choose what to keep of their old and new identities through a constant (re)negotiation of their identities. Both analyses show that migrants’ identities are gendered and this, in combination with the constant reworking of identities, show that the migrants are reflexive life planners.

Living Transnational Lives: Investigating the Role of ICTs in Transnational Migrants’ Identity Formation

The Impact of Higher Education on Linguistic Culture in Senegal and the Midwest United States The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of globalization on linguistic culture in populations of people from both Senegal and the Midwest United States. This study will also specifically highlight any similarities and differences present between those who have a higher education and those that do not. These similarities and differences were revealed by asking the research question: How has the process of globalization impacted beliefs about language held by people from various educational levels in Senegal and the U.S. Midwest? Data regarding globalization’s effect on the attitudes people have about language, linguistic culture, were retrieved from twenty-four voluntary participants using critical ethnography. This data collection was done in the form of in-person interviews, where openended, umbrella-like questions were asked. These open-ended questions allowed the interviewees to determine and guide the interview towards what they viewed as the most pertinent, relevant, and personalized answer. The data from twelve of the twenty-four participants in this study were used from a study by Kearney in 2015, while data from the other twelve participants were collected in person by the author during the summer of 2016. The results of this study concluded that higher education did influence differences in linguistic culture. However, globalization seemed to be a larger force acting upon those who participated within this study. Globalization contributes to one’s ability to have the means, financial means and support system to be able to obtain a higher education. Globalization also influences those to feel as if one must obtain a higher education to achieve success.

/pdf/the-impact-of-higher-education-on-linguistic-culture-in-2ja4bw2rg7.pdf

The Impact of Higher Education on Linguistic Culture in Senegal and the Midwest United States

German-Kurdish cultural organizations and the Kurdish Diaspora they represent offer an example of a new type of actor in defining globalization. This paper examines how such organizations act as the lynchpin in transnational networks and how such organizations give a voice to Berliner-Kurds. These relationships are explored at the national, regional, and organizational level, in order to paint a comprehensive perspective. It argues that despite experiencing discrimination, the convergence of a global diaspora and local actors has contributed to the reinvention of the German-Kurdish community as a globalized minority. Such a concept is important for understanding how migrant communities can have a dialog with the majority and be included in democratic processes.

/pdf/working-towards-a-globalized-minority-regional-german-xnz63yvf1r.pdf

1. Globalization: a contested concept

Citations

Transnational Media Articulations of Ghanaian Women: Mapping Shifting Returnee Identities in an Online Web Series

Exploring the Impact of Globalization on Linguistic Culture

Living Transnational Lives: Investigating the Role of ICTs in Transnational Migrants’ Identity Formation

The Impact of Higher Education on Linguistic Culture in Senegal and the Midwest United States

Working Towards a Globalized Minority: Regional German-Kurdish Cultural Organizations and Transnational Networks

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