scholarly journals Latvian Emigrants in the United States: Different Waves, Different Identities?

Author(s):  
Andris Saulītis ◽  
Inta Mieriņa

Abstract This chapter studies the relationships and interaction among the Latvian emigrants from different migration waves in the United States. It specifically examines reasons for the inability of the existing and politically and culturally active Latvian diaspora community in the United States to integrate newcomers from Latvia. The diaspora community is formed mostly of migrants who left Latvia after World War II. The research is based on a mix of two sources of information and methods – qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with the ‘new’ Latvian emigrants in the United States in 2014, who began arriving there in 1991 and quantitative data analysis of The Emigrant Communities of Latvia survey. The study illustrates that the migrants from the most recent emigration wave distance themselves to a large extent from the previous migration wave. Additionally, the most recent migrants do not have strong social ties or active networks with Latvians back home and, therefore, cannot be considered as being a part of a transnational community, which is a characteristic of the previous Latvian migration wave. Instead, the migrants from the most recent wave base their belonging on the notion of having roots in Europe in terms of cultural heritage and identity. For this reason, they are to be considered as so-called ‘nomadic’ migrants, although this differs substantially from the way the concept is used in the academic literature so far – there is no return point back home, as they only look forward.

2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-271
Author(s):  
Barbara Schmitter Heisler

This article explores the contradictions between the bracero program and the temporary labor program using German prisoners of war in the United States during World War II. Despite the bilateral agreement between Mexico and the United States aimed at protecting the braceros, “who came as allies,” they remained alien workers and outsiders. In contrast, German prisoners of war, who came as enemies, were often transformed into personal friends “like our own boys.” This article uses archival records, in-depth interviews with former prisoners of war, and secondary sources to analyze several structural factors that help explain these divergent outcomes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-92
Author(s):  
Rotimi Williams Omotoye

Pentecostalism as a new wave of Christianity became more pronounced in 1970's and beyond in Nigeria. Since then scholars of Religion, History, Sociology and Political Science have shown keen interest in the study of the Churches known as Pentecostals because of the impact they have made on the society. The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was established by Pastor Josiah Akindayomi in Lagos,Nigeria in 1952. After his demise, he was succeeded by Pastor Adeboye Adejare Enock. The problem of study of this research was an examination of the expansion of the Redeemed Christian Church of God to North America, Caribbean and Canada. The missionary activities of the church could be regarded as a reversed mission in the propagation of Christianity by Africans in the Diaspora. The methodology adopted was historical. The primary and secondary sources of information were also germane in the research. The findings of the research indicated that the Redeemed Christian Church of God was founded in North America by Immigrants from Nigeria. Pastor Adeboye Enock Adejare had much influence on the Church within and outside the country because of his charisma. The Church has become a place of refuge for many immigrants. They are also contributing to the economy of the United States of America. However, the members of the Church were faced with some challenges, such as security scrutiny by the security agencies. In conclusion, the RCCGNA was a denomination that had been accepted and embraced by Nigerians and African immigrants in the United States of America.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-41
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Lindsay ◽  
Qun Le ◽  
Denise Lima Nogueira ◽  
Márcia M. T. Machado ◽  
Mary L. Greaney

Abstract Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess sources of information about gestational weight gain (GWG), diet, and exercise among first-time pregnant Brazilian women in the United States (US). Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Massachusetts, United States. Participants: First-time pregnant Brazilian women. Results: Eighty-six women, the majority of whom were immigrants (96.5%) classified as having low-acculturation levels (68%), participated in the study. Approximately two-thirds of respondents had sought information about GWG (72.1%), diet (79.1%), and exercise (74.4%) via the internet. Women classified as having low acculturation levels were more likely to seek information about GWG via the internet (OR = 7.55; 95% CI: 1.41, 40.26) than those with high acculturation levels after adjusting for age and receiving information about GWG from healthcare provider (doctor or midwife). Moreover, many respondents reported seeking information about GWG (67%), diet (71%), and exercise (52%) from family and friends. Women who self-identified as being overweight pre-pregnancy were less likely to seek information about diet (OR = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.93) and exercise (OR = 0.33; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.96) from family and friends than those who self-identified being normal weight pre-pregnancy. Conclusions: This is the first study to assess sources of information about GWG, diet, and exercise among pregnant Brazilian immigrants in the US. Findings have implications for the design of interventions and suggest the potential of mHealth intervention as low-cost, easy access option for delivering culturally and linguistically tailored evidence-based information about GWG incorporating behavioral change practices to this growing immigrant group.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linh D. Vu

Abstract Exploring the construction and maintenance of Nationalist Chinese soldiers’ graves overseas, this article sheds light on post-World War II commemorative politics. After having fought for the Allies against Japanese aggression in the China-Burma-India Theater, the Chinese expeditionary troops sporadically received posthumous care from Chinese veterans and diaspora groups. In the Southeast Asia Theater, the Chinese soldiers imprisoned in the Japanese-run camps in Rabaul were denied burial in the Allied war cemetery and recognition as military heroes. Analyzing archival documents from China, Taiwan, Britain, Australia, and the United States, I demonstrate how the afterlife of Chinese servicemen under foreign sovereignties mattered in the making of the modern Chinese state and its international status.


2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Rynkiewich

Abstract There was a time when mission studies benefitted from a symbiotic relationship with the social sciences. However, it appears that relationship has stagnated and now is waning. The argument is made here, in the case of cultural anthropology both in Europe and the United States, that a once mutually beneficial though sometimes strained relationship has suffered a parting of the ways in recent decades. First, the article reviews the relationships between missionaries and anthropologists before World War II when it was possible to be a ‘missionary anthropologist’ with a foot in both disciplines. In that period, the conversation went two ways with missionary anthropologists making important contributions to anthropology. Then, the article reviews some aspects of the development of the two disciplines after World War II when increasing professionalism in both disciplines and a postmodern turn in anthropology took the disciplines in different directions. Finally, the article asks whether or not the conversation, and thus the cross-fertilization, can be restarted, especially since the youngest generation of anthropologists has recognized the reality of local Christianities in their fields of study.


1968 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Epstein

Schwarz's study Vom Reich zur Bundesrepublik is, in the opinion of this reviewer, the single most important book on the occupation studyperiod in Germany after World War II that has yet appeared. It is not an ordinary narrative history—indeed, it presupposes a good deal of prior knowledge—but is rather a topical analysis of the following problems: the various possible solutions to the German question in the years after 1945; the policies toward Germany of the four victorious powers—Russia, France, Britain, and the United States; the development of German attitudes on the future political orientation of one or two Germanies; and finally, the factors that led to the voluntary acceptance of Western integration by most West Germans even though this integration meant the partition of Germany.


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