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This dissertation examines contemporary fiction by writers with backgrounds in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa to show how immigrants to the US, across a range of geographical contexts, actively shape the parameters and conditions of their own belonging. The characters in these novels express an ambivalence toward the standard story of assimilation or failure, ultimately offering a more complex understanding of what it means to be an American immigrant in the twenty-first century. In particular, my research shows that in many of the fictional texts written by immigrants about the immigrant experience, characters are often defining their own relationship to the United States by questioning their names, developing new names, and ruminating on the naming traditions of their countries of origin and of their adopted cultures. A coterie of over twenty-five writers, such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Karolina Waclawiak, Valeria Luiselli, NoViolet Bulawayo, Julia Alvarez, and Anya Ulinich among others, use names to parse, document, and test cultural practices of ethnic and racial identification, thereby unsettling crude generalizations that too often inform political debates about immigration., Thinking about names becomes a way for literary immigrants to forge their identities on their own terms, from trying to fit in, struggling to stand out, and everything in between. Across these texts, we see immigrant characters attempt to pass as other ethnicities, refuse seemingly evident solidarities, and engage in unlikely friendships and animosities across origin and migration sites. In these cases, an attention to names helps reconceptualize the American Dream from a unilateral, nationalist project to multiple avenues for immigrant futurity. My project contends that immigrants bring their own multifaceted cultural conceptions to bear on how they imagine their place within American identity. Rather than being fixed, these cultural conceptions are constantly changing. By focusing on experiments with naming in contemporary immigrant fiction, I show how immigrant literature offers us a new understanding of what American literature is and a new vocabulary for immigrant belonging in the twenty-first century.

Workplace discrimination exists in the Swedish work environment. Minority groups (such as immigrants, persons from ethno-racial backgrounds different from the majority population, persons of non-normative sexual orientation, gender, or religious background) may experience discrimination or the fear of possible exposure to discrimination in the workplace. This presents an additional form of stress referred to as ‘minority stress’. Minority Stress is added stress to general stressors experienced by all people that is unique to minority groups. In the workplace, workplace discrimination is a psychosocial risk factor which could lead to minority stress. To address this risk, studies aimed at eliminating health and other disparities requires quality and methodologically sound research on racial/ethnic minorities, yet little guidelines are available. This thesis aims to bridge this gap and adopts ethno-racialization and participatory research frameworks to elicit the views and opinions of eight (8) ethno-racialized minorities in Sweden on how survey items investigating workplace discrimination in Sweden could be designed in a sensitive, non-stigmatizing manner that does not reinforce negative stereotypes. Study participants included five men and three women aged between 18 – 45 years old recruited through opportunistic, snowball sampling technique, with Swedish work experience between1 – 10 years, and working across academia, hospitality, communication, and health sectors. Participants responded to survey questionnaire and were interviewed on four key areas: Demographics; Ethno-racialization questions; Sample of various wordings on discrimination questions and Technology related questions regarding data collection, storage, and access.The result from this study show that “language” used in the wording of survey questions directed at ethno-racialized minorities is an important element if/how they respond and interpret questions. In this regard, using unclear and indirect language that is vague, ambiguous in survey questionnaire could lead to multiple interpretations and impact the validity of data collected. The study also found that ethno-racialized persons are not a homogenous group and as such, how they interpret and respond to survey questions indicate differences and reflect their individual preferences. The study concludes that survey items investigating workplace discrimination among ethno-racialized minorities should be designed using language that is direct and considers the varied opinions and perspectives of members of the group – that is, ethno-racialized minorities come from diverse backgrounds and their views are not homogenous.

International audience; This article analyses how the French written press has covered feminist movements since the 2000s. It shows how the mainstream media produce a national narrative that is significant of gender- and race-based power relations. It highlights how this narrative is characteristic of an ethno-racialization of sexism in the mainstream media, a process that represents specific culprits and victims of gender inequalities.; Par l’analyse de la médiatisation des mouvements féministes les plus médiatisés depuis les années 2000 dans la presse écrite (Ni putes ni soumises, Femen, Osez le féminisme! et la Barbe), cet article rend compte de la manière dont les médias participent à la production d’un récit national porteur de rapports sociaux de genre et de race. En donnant à voir des victimes et coupables particuliers d’inégalités, ce récit est significatif d’un processus d’ethnoracialisation du problème public du sexisme dans les médias d’information généraliste.

Este artículo analiza los procesos de etno-racialización del movimiento rural afroyaracuyano del estado Yaracuy, Venezuela. Desde una perspectiva etnográfica se estudia cómo las organizaciones territoriales de este movimiento han generado nuevos marcos de acción colectiva que intentan movilizar tanto identidades étnico-raciales como identificaciones productivas/campesinas. igualmente, se aborda cómo las diversas posiciones étnicas y raciales de las y los actores sociales están en constante articulación con los discursos y políticas del multiculturalismo bolivariano. Proponemos que la construcción de la diferencia étnico-racial en torno a la «afrodescendencia» no sólo está en continua disputa, sino que también se encuentra mediada por los discursos e imaginarios políticos del proyecto socialista venezolano. This paper analyzes the processes of ethno-racialization of the afro-Yaracuyan rural movement in the state of Yaracuy, in Venezuela. Following an ethnographic approach, we study how territorial organizations in this movement have given rise to new frameworks for collective action intending to mobilize both ethno-racial identities and productive/ peasant identities. Similarly, we address how the various ethnical and racial positions by social actors are in continuous articulation with the discourses and policies of Bolivarian multiculturalism. We suggest the construction of ethno-racial difference around "afrodescent" is not only under discussion but also is mediated by the political discourses and political imaginaries of the Venezuelan socialist project. Este artigo analisa os processos de etno-racialização do movimento rural afroyaracuyano do estado de Yaracuy, na Venezuela. Estuda-se, a partir de uma perspectiva etnográfica, como as organizações territoriais desse movimento têm gerado novos marcos de ação coletiva que buscam mobilizar tanto identidades étnico-raciais como identificações produtivas/camponesas. Aborda-se, igualmente, como as diversas posições étnicas e raciais das e dos atores sociais estão em constante articulação com os discursos e políticas do multiculturalismo bolivariano. Propomos que a construção da diferença étnico-racial em torno da «afrodescendência» não somente está em continua disputa, mas mediada pelos discursos e imaginários políticos do projeto socialista venezuelano.