Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant: A Political and Economic Analysis of the Dynamics of Immigrant Identity Formation

Suny At Albany, Albany NY

Investigators

Abstract

Doctoral student Maria Diaz Montejo, under the guidance of Dr. Walter E. Little, will undertake research on how transnational migrant flows may influence, reproduce, and change cultural traditions, identities, and social relations. The research goal is to determine if migrants use cultural reproduction to build networks across ethnic, cultural, class, and national boundaries, and what the long term social, economic, and political effects of such efforts might be. Leveraging previous research in Guatemala, this project will be carried out in a community of Mayan migrants who are originally from Jacaltenango, Guatemala, but now live in Jupiter, Florida. The investigator will conduct in-depth open-ended and semi-structured interviews, surveys, and participant observation. With a particular focus on the transformation of religious and other public observances, she will gather data on possibile connections between Jakaltek festival activities and Jakaltek immigration status, economic strategies, and engagement with extra-community social networks. The research is significant because it will contribute to social science theory by helping to illuminate the complexities of migrant identity, seen as a dynamic process of innovation and tradition. The research should contribute practically to a better understanding of how relationships between immigrants and residents come into being. Funding this research also supports the education of a social scientist.