The spirit of Utu: Exploring local knowledge and social networks of homestay hosts in a Swahili language college program in Tanzania

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Wednesday II)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Conceptualizing local and indigenous knowledge: exploring research approaches of three doctoral candidates in Tanzania, Thailand, and the United States

Proposal

This qualitative study examines the lived experiences of homestay hosts in a Swahili language college program in Tanzania to explore how host families utilize local knowledge and informal social networking structures to empower each other as they negotiate the many social, cultural, and economic challenges of hosting foreign college students. The homestay is a key component in foreign language education abroad, and it includes unique motivations, challenges, and benefits for host families in non-traditional study abroad destinations including Africa. One such non-traditional location is Tanzania, a destination for Swahili language study and cultural immersion, where homestays offer close engagement with locals and exposure to critical environmental and social issues within the changing sociocultural and economic landscape of an emerging country. Of the existing research on hosts’ perspectives and experiences, the dominant framework has primarily conceptualized study abroad literature from a Euro-American lens. Previous studies have focused on popular study destinations (i.e., largely Spanish-speaking countries) and traditional Western frameworks in the Global North, leaving open questions about the sociocultural and economic dynamics of host families in non-traditional destinations like Tanzania. I contend that understanding the complexity of hosting in a non-traditional study abroad destination involves acknowledging the fabric of tradition, local knowledge, and social networks as important factors that shape a community’s identity and worldview and have the potential for influencing the future planning and development of foreign language programs abroad in the Global South.

Research using Western frameworks is difficult to contextualize in the Global South, especially within the unique cultural mosaic of Tanzania where local knowledge and social links with communities are highly valued as defined within the framework of Utu. The relational principle of Utu emphasizes interdependence while encouraging concerns for the welfare of others through community, reciprocity, and meaningful relationships. Recognizing the value of both Euro-American and local and indigenous frameworks, this study seeks to move beyond Western discourses on host family experiences by applying the Utu framework with host families in Tanzania to better understand how hosts make meaning from their experiences in non-traditional settings to help support and align their goals and interests with the program. Preliminary results illustrate the role of local knowledge and social networks for Tanzanian host families and the importance of creating trust and fostering agency among students, community members, program staff, and other host families. Findings will help inform the literature and praxis with implications to increase awareness and stimulate discussion for applying non-Western frameworks in research on host families to assist program coordinators with supporting future planning, development, and reciprocity in study abroad programs in Africa and the Global South.

Author

• Kaia DeMatteo, University of Massachusetts Boston