Finding a Place in the Homeland: Examining Diaspora Return in Jamaica

Description of research project: 

In an era marked by widening inequality, intensifying xenophobia, and resurgent nativism across traditional migrant-receiving countries of the West, questions of who belongs where have come to characterize much of our contemporary zeitgeist. One response to this reality has been the rise of the "counter-diasporic migration”—the voluntary "return" of descendants of migrants to their putative ancestral homelands. Such return movements are taking place around the world: from second- and third-generation migrants leaving the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland to resettle in their (grand)parents homelands of China, India, Greece, Turkey, South Korea, Barbados, Armenia, and Jamaica, to American descendants of enslaved Africans, generations removed from Africa, tracing their roots to Ghana and relocating there. Together, these varied migration patterns speak to an enduring human desire to feel "in place" and "at home" somewhere. Indeed, as American philosopher Edward Casey reminds us, "there is no self without place, and no place without self." 

My dissertation project examines this emerging form of transnational mobility through the lens of Black placemaking. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 1.5-, 2nd-, and 3rd -generation Jamaicans who have voluntarily relocated from Canada, the US or the UK to Jamaica in adulthood, the project seeks to understand why descendants of earlier Jamaican migrants are choosing to return to Jamaica, and their experiences of return.

Description of work that will be assigned to research assistants: 

I am seeking dynamic, creative, and social media-savvy research assistants who are excited about innovative qualitative research methods and digital public scholarship. Research assistants will work collaboratively to analyze interview data, review relevant academic literature, and translate research findings into accessible and engaging content for dissemination through my Jamaican diaspora-focused Instagram platform (10,000+ followers, primarily Jamaicans and members of the Jamaican diaspora). Research assistants will also analyze audience responses to this content as part of the project's participatory digital ethnographic research design. Instagram comments will be treated as qualitative data to support participatory knowledge production, theory building, and member checking.

1. Qualitative Data Analysis

• Read and analyze interview transcripts.
• Assist with qualitative coding and the identification of emerging themes.
•  Participate in collaborative discussions to refine analytical interpretations.

2. Research Translation and Public Scholarship

• Translate emerging, high-level themes into engaging Instagram posts designed to communicate research findings to a broader public.
• Review and synthesize relevant academic literature (i.e., diaspora, return migration)
• Transform literature reviews into accessible social media content that encourages thoughtful public discussion.

3. Digital Ethnographic Analysis

• Collect, organize, and analyze comments and discussions generated by research-related Instagram posts.
• Assess how audiences interpret, challenge, or affirm emerging findings.
• Assist in documenting patterns of audience engagement as part of the project's participatory digital ethnography.

4. Collaborative Interpretation

• Participate in regular meetings to discuss findings. 
• Contribute to refining themes and interpretations by integrating interview data, scholarly literature, and insights emerging from public engagement.

Supervising Faculty Member: Paige Sweet

Graduate Student: Kayonne Christy

Contact Information: kchristy@umich.edu

Average hours of work per week: 9-12

Range of credit hours students can earn: 3-4

Number of positions available: 4