Valuing the Construction of Transnational Imagined Communities by Somali Refugee Background High School Students

• In Event: Understanding and Navigating Political Contexts Through Advocacy

Abstract

This study attempts to understand the unique transnational literacies of Somali Muslim girls of refugee background attending high school in a US meatpacking community. Through narrative inquiry and undergirded by transnational imagined community theoretical perspectives, we illuminate Somali Muslim girls' transnational journeys, experiences, and agency. We center the Somali girls’ experiences in the school and community, illustrating the strategic deployment of literacies and various identities to construct a sense of belonging/acceptance in school and community. We chronicle resistance to different forms of discrimination arising from linguistic, cultural, and religious differences and advocacy for themselves, peers, and their communities. This study has implications for educators working with newcomer students and reminds us of the wisdom of listening to students’ own voices.

Authors

• Lydiah Kananu Kiramba, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Edmund T. Hamann, University of Nebraska - Lincoln