Feeling and Feeding the Immigrant Void in Academia

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Nourish and Heal: The Research of Food and Wellness (Table 6)

Abstract

We tell the food stories of four academic women: Madina – an Uzbek; Ferial - a Kenyan Muhindi; Laura – a Chicana; and Sandra – a Boricua/Puerto Rican. Coming together in midwest from disparate places, we find through testimonio how we feed the void we feel – this añorar – with food and related conversations, as it is such a connection to our families, lives, cultures, and homes that we bring to this land that feels foreign despite years of living here. Food is spatio-temporal and integral to our dispositions as educators, writers, and friends. We examine how we navigate academia and beyond with authenticity, transnational perspectives, care, and cooking to combat difficulties that come from being separated from who and where we are from.

Authors

• Madina Djuraeva, University of Nebraska - Omaha

• Ferial Pearson, University of Nebraska - Omaha

• Laura C. Walls, University of Nebraska - Omaha

• Sandra Rodriguez-Arroyo, University of Nebraska - Omaha