Description

South Asian American is a coalitional identity label encompassing people who (1) live in the United States and Canada, (2) trace their heritage to the nations of the Indian subcontinent (e.g. India, Pakistan), and (3) advocate for new solidarities with other people of color as well as with internally marginalized groups (e.g. along caste, class, religious lines) within their umbrella community. 

Tasks and Responsibilities

For this project, the student will carefully map and catalog a network of digital media producers (e.g. podcasters, bloggers, vloggers, digital archivists) who are actively negotiating the politics of this emergent South Asian American identity. These creators seek to produce the identity category of South Asian American as legible to a wider public while also reshaping its internal community politics to be more inclusive and social justice-oriented. Informed by scholarly literature and research group discussions, the student will identify, transcribe, and examine discussions of identity and solidarity found in specific episodes and posts. Key topics will include the language of identity (e.g. South Asian vs. brown vs. desi vs. Indian), the visions of solidarity and coalition offered, and the political possibilities and limits of these different identity positionings.  Doing this work will open up a powerful space for the student to consider how media and migration shape their own and others' experiences of identity and belonging, and to critically analyze how race functions in the United States.

Desired Qualifications

None listed.