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This work uses the lens of new literacy studies to examine the narratives told through the tattoos of Karen youth refugees living in the United States. This insight into a single ethnic group, currently under-represented in the literature, seeks to broaden teacher perspectives on what "counts" as literacy. This work is based on a series of interviews with Karen refugees and takes a sociocultural perspective on the ways living in a divided cultural and linguistic space shapes Karen youth's literacy practices and is shaped by their out-of-school lives. Findings are explored in two thematic groups related to Karen youth tattooing: tattoos as expressions of solidarity and tattoos that signify remembering. Implications and discussion sections include ways that teachers may specifically begin to consider and utilize student tattoos and other alternative literacies in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While refugee resettlements in urban areas have historically had negative outcomes, alternatives have not been adequately discussed. This study aims to shed light on refugee's rural resettlement via an ethnographic case study. The participatory action research team consisting of refugee youth and outside academics investigated two rural Karen communities in Georgia and three urban communities via semi-structured interviews and participant observation. Interview transcripts, field notes, video recordings of observations, and dialogues among researchers served as rich data for thematic analysis. We found refugees like the Karen, who came from rural agricultural backgrounds, benefitted from the familiar lifestyle of rural living. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of rural resettlement for refugees regarding community support, insecurity, inter-ethnic conflict, housing, employment, and cultural heritage and language maintenance. Community leaders and policymakers of refuge resettlement may use the findings in making decisions about the potential for rural resettlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2007, ethnic Karen refugees have been resettling in communities across the USA. To date, a dearth of information exists in the academic literature, and mainstream culture about the Karen people and even less has been reported on their resettlement. This study offers insight into the Karen people and their resettlement experiences via a collaborative research project between a US graduate student and three Karen brothers. Together, we investigated the Karen resettlement experience in four different communities in the USA. This particular paper draws on data gleaned from our 2-year collaboration. We focus on issues identified by the research team as principal concerns of the brothers' Karen community in rural Georgia and the broader Karen community in the USA. As a collaborative project, this paper offers a unique synthesis of both emic and etic perceptions on Karen resettlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the social and cultural uses of digital literacies by adolescent immigrants to cope with their new lives in the United States. This case study focuses on three adolescent ethnic Karen brothers. Two years of participant observations in their home and Karen community, accompanied by formal and informal interviews, served as the data. Findings report the ways in which these adolescent's digital literacy skills serve them and their family throughout the resettlement process by facilitating: (1) the maintaining and building of co-ethnic friendships, (2) connection to the broader Karen diaspora community, (3) the sustaining and promoting of ethnic solidarity, and (4) the creation and dissemination of digital productions. We argue that the Internet facilitates these youth as they cope with the economic, educational, and social demands of resettlement. This study can inform teachers and others working with immigrant communities about the literacy practices of their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]