Liminal Identity: Reconstruction of Syrian Identity in Trump's America
Abstract During November of 2016, the Electoral College elected Donald Trump as President of the United States of America. The following spring, I conducted research with Syrian refugees in Austin, Texas. Using liminality, or the space of uncertainty, I examined identity loss and change with Syrian refugees and within myself. As an immigrant from Syria, my identity was always an issue growing up in the United States, especially as my family struggled for years to attain citizenship. Trump's election evoked my past feelings of uncertainty regarding personhood. Understanding the political context and the challenges of resettlement, I conducted my thesis research in Austin, Texas, with Syrian refugees in order to examine changes in their identities. Their continued feelings of identity loss and change fortified their existence in a space I am very familiar with—liminality.