"I Want Out": Expatriation, Meaning-Making Processes, and Racialized Discourse on Reddit

• In Event: 20406 - Communication, Information Technology, and Media Sociology Open Topic Panel

Abstract

The internet serves as a critical space where individuals form their expatriation expectations and experiences. While previous research has examined how social media facilitates racialized discussions related to travel and community-building, less attention has been given to the process of expatriation, specifically, how expatriation discourse is racialized within online spaces. Utilizing Structural Topic Modeling and Word Embeddings, we examine how expatriation discourse emerges on Reddit and the contexts in which this discourse is racialized. Specifically, we explore the extent to which individuals discuss racial identity and racialized experiences in connection to a location as an aspect of consideration when seeking to expatriate, as well as when and where these aspects are not shared. Given the limited sociological research at the intersection of race, racial discourse, and expatriation, we uplift the importance of social media as a space for racialized meaning-making processes and where storytelling and knowledge sharing shape individuals’ understandings of expatriation and influence subsequent migration decisions.

Authors

• Victoria Lauren Isaac, University of Illinois-Chicago

• Charity Coleman, University of Illinois-Chicago

• Jiyoun Yoo, University of Illinois at Chicago