Opelo Badubi will be presenting her dissertation research proposal, “Africans in the diaspora: Negotiating transnational identities online” on Thursday, August 29th, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM in PCN 2012. All are welcome.
Supervisors: Dr. Ron Darvin & Dr. Bonny Norton
Committee Member: Dr. Maureen Kendrick
ABSTRACT: This study explores the ways in which African immigrants in Canada negotiate their transnational identities online, particularly as they participate in a social media platform like X/Twitter. Systemic racism in Canadian society presents significant barriers to the integration of racialized individuals, leading to complex challenges for African immigrants in negotiating their transnational identities (Creese, 2020). As the third-largest visible minority in Canada, their journeys of identity, assimilation, and belonging in Canada are further complicated by their diverse ethnicities and cultures, as well as the lingering effects of White colonial legacies in their home countries. As the African diaspora in Canada continues to grow, understanding how these individuals navigate their identities online, particularly on platforms like X/Twitter, becomes increasingly important. The real-time communication and broad visibility offered by X/Twitter provide a unique opportunity to explore how these identities are performed, contested, and maintained in a digital context, as well as how these individuals negotiate their place within Canadian society while maintaining connections to their countries of origin. Drawing on theories of identity (Norton, 2013; 2019), investment (Darvin & Norton, 2015; 2023), and transnationalism (Glick-Schiller et al., 2013; Vertovec, 2009), this case study will use multimodal discourse analysis to examine digital artifacts from six verified X/Twitter profiles of members of the African diaspora in Canada. The study aims to contribute to a broader understanding of how African immigrants in Canada navigate online spaces as they position themselves and are positioned by others, focusing on how they assert ethnic and racial identities, resist systemic racism, and foster a sense of belonging within Canada. This research also speaks to the role of digital literacies in the negotiation of identity and belonging in a transnational context.