Cultural Connections
Imagining Kawthoolei: How Karen Refugees Construct Identity Around a Symbolic Homeland
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
James Chaney
This paper investigates how the Karen refugee community in Smyrna, Tennessee—a suburban area in the Southern United States—employs the notion of homeland and collective memory to preserve group identity and cohesion across generations. Through qualitative analysis, the study explores how different generations of Karen refugees interpret and negotiate their shared pan-Karen identity, focusing on the symbolic homeland of Kawthoolei and their ongoing political resistance against the Burmese government. The study also examines the Karen community's internal diversity—encompassing language, religion, and political perspectives—and its historical fragmentation, to better understand how these elements shape intra-community interactions and identity construction. This research contributes to the discourse on refugee communities by illustrating how these groups sustain ties to their homeland while adapting their identities within a new geographical and cultural environment.
Diaspora Activism of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America since the 2022 Russian Invasion
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Nadejda Marinova
This paper focuses on the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), an organization advocating for Ukraine since the 2022 Russian invasion. UCCA is an association of 29 secular, religious, cultural and professional diaspora organizations. Established in 1940, its wide-ranging representation makes it a unique case study for analyzing how 1 million Ukrainian-Americans have responded to the Russian invasion. The paper posits that the Ukrainian diaspora has actively lobbied for funding for Ukraine on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, and has been active in humanitarian initiatives, in conjunction with the Ukrainian World Congress. While the diaspora literature indicates that multiple divisions exist within heterogeneous diasporas, this research has yet to identify such dynamics. The paper draws on the literature’s insights about diaspora mobilization in wartime and diaspora-policymaker relations, eliciting comparisons with Lebanese-American diaspora organizations, particularly regarding the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005 and UN Security Council Resolution 1559 (2004). The comparisons epitomize the conference’s theme of global society, in particularly the role of diaspora NGOs in global society, which includes the study of diasporas across geographical contexts. The paper utilizes UCCA organizational documents, news media articles, YouTube recordings, social media posts, and public declarations of organizational officials. The research contributes to an emerging body of literature that examines the activity of the Ukrainian diaspora since the 2022 invasion.
