Writing the Self with Immigrant Girls in Rhode Island

Date of Award

5-12-2024

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Geography & the Environment

Advisor(s)

Natalie Koch

Keywords

Creative Writing/Autoethnography;Gender;Immigration;Intersectionality;Youth;YPAR

Subject Categories

Arts and Humanities | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Women's Studies

Abstract

This dissertation does not have an Argument. It has arguments. They do not combine. They might relate. But they do not join. I decided that this dissertation is a story. This is a story about many things. If there is one thread that joins the stories within it, it is form. It argues that form can be different. That a dissertation isn’t just one thing. Or five things. It can be radically different. What is this dissertation about? What is the point of it? Beyond a certification process of my knowledge. A benchmark of ten plus years in grad school. This is a story about stories. This is a story about me. This is a story about academia. This is a story about five girls. And how they shared parts of their lives with me. And with each other. This is a story about care. How I came to know them and care for them. This is a story that is not complete. This is a story about the mundane. This is a story about teaching. This is a story about writing. This is a story about fostering relationships that matter. This is a story of the past. This is a prologue of their future. This is a story about a space and a time where imagination and fun could reign. This is a story about big issues like racism and immigration. This is not a story of marginalization. Of trauma. This is a story of joy and pain. This is not a story for you to extract information from. This is a dissertation. This is not a dissertation. This is not a story you can skim. This is not a story with a roadmap. This is a story that unfolds as you read it. This is a story to be felt. This is a story of feeling. This is part of their story. This is part of my story. The writing of this dissertation in this way is how I have survived academia. An academia that oppresses me because of my disability. Because of my gender. Ultimately this is a story about caring. A story about compassion. This is a dissertation about relationships between us. This is a story that cares. It cares more about process, about form, about evoking emotions in the reader, than it does about Argument. But most importantly, it cares about people. This is a story about how to care for, and care with, despite academia. Despite departmental and disciplinary norms. This is a story about writing to care, and caring to write.

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