The Constant Sense of Being a Foreigner

• In Event: Doing and Being: Religious Experiences in Schools

Abstract

The paper examines how female Muslim adolescents negotiate their linguistic identities between their Islamic weekend schools and public schools. Fishman’s theoretical perspectives for a sociology of language and religion are utilized to examine the participants’ linguistic repertoires. For sample selection, purposeful sampling is used to select three case studies from diverse linguistic backgrounds. Data collection includes in-depth individual interviews, focus group interviews, and reflective memos. The collected data is analyzed using thematic and discourse analysis. The study shows that female Muslim adolescents strive for an in-between space between their public and local Islamic settings. However, some of them struggle with a sense foreignness in both settings.

Author

• Amal M. Elassi, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Presenting Author