Graduation Year

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Communication

Major Professor

Keith Berry, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Aisha Durham, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Patrice Buzzanell, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Manoucheka Celeste, Ph.D.

Keywords

autoethnography, caribbean identity, intercultural communication, relational communication, transnational Black feminism

Abstract

The goal of this research study is to gather, convey and explore the lived experience related to transnational identity construction for Black Trinidadian[-]American women. I adopt an interdisciplinary approach to better understand what it means to live as, and be, a Black Trinidadian[-]American. Using auto/ethnography and interviews, I seek to answer the following research questions: (1) How do Black Trinidadian[-]American women describe their negotiation of cultural identity in Trinidad and the United States? (2) How do Black Trinidadian[-]American women describe “in-between” homeplaces within the intersectional context of gender, race, class, and culture? (3) How do Black, Trinidadian[-]American women describe transnational, affective, social, and embodied citizenships? The dissertation is comprised of personal narratives conveyed by interviewees, my own stories, and the analysis I conduct on our stories. More specifically, I explore the meaningfulness of issues concerning transnational identity, citizenship, and home. Overall, I aim for the study to demonstrate how Black im/migrant women from Trinidad negotiate and communicate their identities as dual-citizens to make sense of their lives, and the ways in which personal narrative, storytelling, and autoethnography, generally, provides researchers with invaluable ways of understanding under-represented groups, by highlighting valuable cultural and relational experiences.

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