Journal Description
Genealogy
Genealogy
is an international, scholarly, peer-reviewed, open access journal devoted to the analysis of genealogical narratives (with applications for family, race/ethnic, gender, migration and science studies) and scholarship that uses genealogical theory and methodologies to examine historical processes. The journal is published quarterly online by MDPI.
- Open Access— free for readers, with article processing charges (APC) paid by authors or their institutions.
- High Visibility: indexed within Scopus, ESCI (Web of Science), and many other databases.
- Rapid Publication: manuscripts are peer-reviewed and a first decision is provided to authors approximately 26.9 days after submission; acceptance to publication is undertaken in 5.8 days (median values for papers published in this journal in the first half of 2024).
- Recognition of Reviewers: reviewers who provide timely, thorough peer-review reports receive vouchers entitling them to a discount on the APC of their next publication in any MDPI journal, in appreciation of the work done.
Impact Factor:
0.8 (2023)
Latest Articles
Ghosts in the Machine: Possessive Selves, Inert Kinship, and the Potential Whiteness of “Genealogical” Indigeneity
Genealogy 2024, 8(4), 132; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8040132 - 16 Oct 2024
Abstract
This article explores the recent rise in the use of self-identification as a key element of legitimacy in contemporary claims to Indigeneity. Emphasizing self-identification as a central dynamic of all identity-making in contemporary nation-states, the article argues nonetheless that this element of identity
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This article explores the recent rise in the use of self-identification as a key element of legitimacy in contemporary claims to Indigeneity. Emphasizing self-identification as a central dynamic of all identity-making in contemporary nation-states, the article argues nonetheless that this element of identity is insufficient for making ethical claims to Indigeneity. Emphasizing instead the importance of ongoing Indigenous relationality (i.e., kinship), it argues that genealogical databases potentially exacerbate the potential to engage in non-relational forms of belonging that undermine Indigenous communities’ and nations’ autonomy in defining the boundaries and contours of their citizenship. I undertake this argument in three broad parts. Part one undertakes a selective discussion of sociologist Stuart Hall’s conceptualization of identity, highlighting what I regard as two relevant elements key to his identity-making framework. Part two then undertakes a brief discussion of Geonpul scholar Aileen Moreton-Robinson’s discussion of white possessiveness as a useful lens for framing the growing self-Indigenization/Pretendianism literature as variegated examples of analyzing its practice; and finally, part three explores the potential of genealogical databases to encourage possessive/non-relational forms of identity-making, what I term here “inert kinship”. The article then concludes with a brief discussion regarding how genealogical databases might be used ethically with respect to claiming Indigenous belonging, and why this is key to the upholding of Indigenous sovereignty.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue (Un)Settling Genealogies: Self-Indigenization in Media, Arts, Politics, and Academia)
Open AccessArticle
Conspiratorial Narratives and Ideological Constructs in the Russia–Ukraine Conflict: From the New World Order to the Golden Billion Theories
by
Marino De Luca and Luigi Giungato
Genealogy 2024, 8(4), 131; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8040131 - 12 Oct 2024
Abstract
This article explores the pervasive influence of conspiracy theories, specifically the New World Order (NWO) and Golden Billion theories, within the context of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. These theories form key narrative frameworks in Russian state media and global conspiracy
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This article explores the pervasive influence of conspiracy theories, specifically the New World Order (NWO) and Golden Billion theories, within the context of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. These theories form key narrative frameworks in Russian state media and global conspiracy communities, shaping perceptions of geopolitical events. This study dissects four pivotal episodes within the Russia–Ukraine conflict to illustrate how conspiracy theories shape public perception and policy direction, further entrenching ideological divides. In the first episode of the 2022 full-scale invasion, narratives of the Golden Billion were utilised to justify the attack, presenting Russia as a bastion against the Western elite’s plans to dominate the global economy and resources. The second episode examines the attack on Mariupol in 2022, framed by Russian propaganda as a necessary act to thwart the supposed expansion of NATO and the EU, underpinned by the NWO agenda aiming to dilute Russian influence in Eastern Europe. The third episode analyses the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage in 2022, interpreted by some conspiracy theorists as an act by the NWO to destabilise Europe’s energy security, thus consolidating control over energy routes and resources. The fourth episode delves into the 2024 Moscow terrorist attacks, which were seen by some as either a false flag operation conducted by Western powers or as a legitimate repercussion of Western encroachment orchestrated to weaken Russia’s resolve and international standing. Each episode is contextualised within a broader conspiratorial framework, highlighting the dualistic nature of the NWO and Golden Billion theories that paint the conflict not merely as territorial disputes but as a clash between fundamentally opposing worldviews and global orders. This narrative analysis not only underscores the role of conspiracy theories in shaping geopolitical discourse but also demonstrates their utility in mobilising domestic support, framing international criticism, and justifying military actions. Our findings suggest that these conspiratorial narratives provide a resilient, albeit misleading, lens through which supporters of the Kremlin’s policies can rationalise the war, attributing complex sociopolitical dynamics to the malevolent machinations of a global elite. This study contributes to understanding how modern conflicts are interpreted through ancient conspiratorial lenses, impacting national and international policy and public opinion.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conspiracy Theories: Genealogies and Political Uses)
Open AccessArticle
Adivasis as Ecological Warriors: Colonial Laws and Post-Colonial Adivasi Resistance in India’s Jharkhand
by
Anjana Singh
Genealogy 2024, 8(4), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8040130 - 11 Oct 2024
Abstract
The growing divide between the capitalist mode of development promoted by the state and the participative development model suggested by the people has brought ecology, environment, and existence to the core of all contemporary debates. The Adivasi (indigenes) who constitute 8.6 percent of
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The growing divide between the capitalist mode of development promoted by the state and the participative development model suggested by the people has brought ecology, environment, and existence to the core of all contemporary debates. The Adivasi (indigenes) who constitute 8.6 percent of the entire population of India are engaged in a constant battle to save their ecology and landscape. Represented as communities whose existence is intertwined with ‘Jal, Jungle, Jameen’ (water, forest, and land), Adivasis are the most prominent communities facing dispossession and displacement from their roots to further the ideology of development in which they have no stake. The notion of Adivasis as ‘savage’, ‘primitive’, and ‘backward’ communities that are incompetent of ‘developing’ themselves, resulting in their ‘backwardness’ gets carried over from the colonial to the contemporary period. Exposed to the processes of mining and industrialisation, Adivasis and their ecological resources have been exploited since the colonial period to suit the development model of the state. The Adivasi notion of selfhood was overlooked in the process of making the areas inhabited by them zones of ‘exclusive governmentality’. The paper argues and analyses this transformation process of Adivasis into ecological warriors; a process in which they used their shared, remembered and lived past to assert their customary rights. Basing the study on three environmental movements of state of Jharkhand in Central India, namely the Koel-Karo movement of the 1980s, the Netarhat movement of the 1990s, and the Pathalgadi movement of 2017–18, the study underlines that the Adivasi of Jharkhand anchored on their customary rights as a weapon, to protect their ecology and landscape against various state-sponsored development schemes. Drawing on the methodology of field investigation, interaction with the NGOs, government reports and media reports, the article argues that these community struggles are rays of hope for a global ecological future.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Representation and Environmental Justice: Exploring Marginalization, Resistance and Empowerment in Environmental Representations of and from the Periphery)
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Open AccessArticle
Indigenous Identity Appropriation in Aotearoa New Zealand: The White Academics Who Claim to Be Indigenous Māori and the Māori Who Claim to Be Indigenous Whites
by
Deane Galbraith
Genealogy 2024, 8(4), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8040129 - 9 Oct 2024
Abstract
Unlike in North America, where several “race-shifters”, “Pretendians”, or “self-indigenizers” have been exposed over the last decade, Indigenous identity appropriation has not been publicly exposed or even widely discussed in Aotearoa New Zealand. This study is the first to identify and to describe
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Unlike in North America, where several “race-shifters”, “Pretendians”, or “self-indigenizers” have been exposed over the last decade, Indigenous identity appropriation has not been publicly exposed or even widely discussed in Aotearoa New Zealand. This study is the first to identify and to describe the methods and motivations of four Pākehā (White) self-indigenizers who are currently working, or were trained, in Aotearoa New Zealand, outlining also the harms they have caused. In addition, this study examines another type of Indigenous identity appropriation taking place in Aotearoa New Zealand, involving a small group of central North Island Māori, whose primary spokesperson is Monica Matāmua. The group claim to be descended from white-skinned Hotu, who they purport had migrated to Aotearoa New Zealand in the 200s B.C., making them the alleged true Indigenous people instead of Māori. Each type of Indigenous identity appropriation provides a range of benefits to those who thereby claim Indigenous status, and this is in part due to the valorization of certain aspects of Indigeneity that occurred from ca. the 1960s to the 1980s. Indigenous identity appropriation has further been encouraged by the backlash against so-called “Māori privilege” that has gathered momentum since ca. the 1980s.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue (Un)Settling Genealogies: Self-Indigenization in Media, Arts, Politics, and Academia)
Open AccessArticle
Development of the Liverpool Jewry Historical Database
by
Philip Sapiro
Genealogy 2024, 8(4), 128; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8040128 - 8 Oct 2024
Abstract
The Liverpool Jewish community was the earliest to be formed in the north of England (c1745) and for much of the 19th century, it was the largest UK Jewish community outside London. However, examination of this important minority community from a social, demographic,
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The Liverpool Jewish community was the earliest to be formed in the north of England (c1745) and for much of the 19th century, it was the largest UK Jewish community outside London. However, examination of this important minority community from a social, demographic, and genealogical perspective has been severely hampered by the lack of a unified source of information about Jewish individuals and families resident in the area during the 18th and 19th centuries. This paper describes how a searchable database of all Jewish persons with a documented connection with the Liverpool area, from the earliest times to 1881, has been produced as a resource for historical, demographic, sociological, and genealogical research. It explains how Jewish individuals were identified by a novel use of distinctive names, occupations, and birthplaces in the secular census and vital records and, in combination with extant records held within the Jewish community, have been used to produce a database of several thousand persons, linked into family groups. It concludes that the principal aim of the project has been achieved, and the approach could act as a template for other religion/ethnicity-based groups.
Full article
Open AccessArticle
Weaving Our Kuwentos (Stories) toward Ginhawa (Aliveness): Pilipinx American Social Work MotherScholars Enacting Praxes of Survival and Thrivance in the Academy
by
Joanna C. La Torre, Lalaine Sevillano, Lisa Reyes Mason, Alma M. Ouanesisouk Trinidad and Cora de Leon
Genealogy 2024, 8(4), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8040127 - 1 Oct 2024
Abstract
Five Pilipina American (PA) social work MotherScholars, from a doctoral student to an interim dean, used kuwentuhan (Pilipinx methodology) to amplify their survivance and thrivance despite attempted exclusion, reduction, and distortion as Pilipinos by coloniality/modernity. Grounded in decolonial feminism (the view that oppressions
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Five Pilipina American (PA) social work MotherScholars, from a doctoral student to an interim dean, used kuwentuhan (Pilipinx methodology) to amplify their survivance and thrivance despite attempted exclusion, reduction, and distortion as Pilipinos by coloniality/modernity. Grounded in decolonial feminism (the view that oppressions such as sexism and racism co-constitute coloniality and that unsettling oppressions disrupts hegemony) and Pinayism (an integrated framework revaluing the labor, intellect, and nurturance of mothering through a cultural lens), the authors work coalitionally across their PA diversity to re-center ginhawa (aliveness or sense of ease and wellness). Together, they embarked on an iterative self-study process of data generation and analysis that included presenting, recording, and transcribing two panel presentations at a premier social work conference, writing reflections and hay(na)ku poems about their experiences and processes, reading and rereading the data, and meeting and discussing the data, their process, and past and current events pertinent to the content. The stories highlight how the authors are living and enlivening decoloniality, and that, in so doing, they continue a lineage of those who have resisted coloniality/modernity and promoted thrivance. Collectively, these kuwentos (stories), reflections, hay(na)ku, and their weaving together, are memory, resistance, counter-storytelling, and healing.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Shifting Structural Power and Advancing Transformational Changes Among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC): Elevating the Voices of the Community)
Open AccessArticle
Dɛnkyɛm: Identity Development and Negotiation Among 1.5-Generation Ghanaian American Millennials
by
Jakia Marie
Genealogy 2024, 8(4), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8040126 - 1 Oct 2024
Abstract
Ghanaian immigrants are largely ignored in U.S.-based scholarship. Within this qualitative study, I explored the experiences of 1.5-generation Ghanaian American millennials with the purpose of understanding how they create, negotiate, and re-create identities. Using a phenomenological approach, I examined the experiences of eight
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Ghanaian immigrants are largely ignored in U.S.-based scholarship. Within this qualitative study, I explored the experiences of 1.5-generation Ghanaian American millennials with the purpose of understanding how they create, negotiate, and re-create identities. Using a phenomenological approach, I examined the experiences of eight individuals to specifically understand the creation and negotiation of national, ethnic, and racial identities in public and private spaces. I argue that the 1.5-generation is uniquely socially positioned and forced to code-switch and adapt based on age, race, and nationality, all while still learning to adjust to living in the U.S. The findings suggest that many individuals of this generation had unrealistic expectations of what life in the United States was like, which made the initial transition difficult. Participants also discussed a common theme of bullying at school and a distinct difference between their home life and public life. Racialization was the most challenging aspect of life participants faced as it related to their adjustment to mainstream U.S. society and revealed complex layers that are involved in identity development and negotiation. I close with suggestions for future research and implications for practice for scholars, policymakers, and community members.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Racialization, Racial /Ethnic Identity, and the Integration of Immigrants)
Open AccessArticle
Proximity, Family Lore, and False Claims to an Algonquin Identity
by
Darryl Leroux
Genealogy 2024, 8(4), 125; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8040125 - 1 Oct 2024
Abstract
This article examines the type of family lore that leads white Canadians and Americans to claim Indigenous identities. Using a case-study approach, I demonstrate how 2000 descendants of a French-Canadian couple, born in the early 1800s near Montréal, joined one of the largest
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This article examines the type of family lore that leads white Canadians and Americans to claim Indigenous identities. Using a case-study approach, I demonstrate how 2000 descendants of a French-Canadian couple, born in the early 1800s near Montréal, joined one of the largest land claims in Canadian history as “Algonquins”. The tools of critical settler family history provide the necessary theoretical scaffolding to unpack how genealogical and geographical proximity to Indigenous people in the past are the bases for the family lore that propelled these individuals to become card-carrying, voting members of the land claim. Despite continued opposition to their inclusion by the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, the only federally recognized Algonquin community involved in the land claim, these fake Algonquins remained potential land claim beneficiaries for over two decades, until an independent tribunal finally removed them in 2023. Family lore resolves the crisis in the family: no longer the colonizers responsible for Indigenous displacement and dispossession, white pretendians become the victims of settler colonial violence.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue (Un)Settling Genealogies: Self-Indigenization in Media, Arts, Politics, and Academia)
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Open AccessArticle
Whakapapa, Mauritau, and Placefulness to Decolonise Indigenous Minds
by
Joni Māramatanga Angeli-Gordon
Genealogy 2024, 8(4), 124; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8040124 - 1 Oct 2024
Abstract
This article explores the relationship between genealogy and the environment as a pathway towards decolonising indigenous minds. In Māori worldviews, everything is categorised, organised, and understood through whakapapa, or genealogy. Whakapapa resides within the land and water, safeguarding ancestral stories as they weave
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This article explores the relationship between genealogy and the environment as a pathway towards decolonising indigenous minds. In Māori worldviews, everything is categorised, organised, and understood through whakapapa, or genealogy. Whakapapa resides within the land and water, safeguarding ancestral stories as they weave through time, space, and place. The environment serves as a powerful tool for maintaining, reclaiming, and reinforcing indigeneity. Strengthening the connections between whakapapa and the environment offers significant avenues for decolonising Indigenous minds, by recalibrating and releasing colonised ways of being to embody mauritau (mindfulness) through whenua kura (placefulness). Unlike Cartesian dualism, which separates the body and mind, the Māori conception of the mind is multifaceted and embodied. The mind is thought to be situated in the solar plexus, emotions in the gut, and connection to spirit in the head, all of which are deeply rooted in whakapapa and the enduring ties to ancestors and place. Whakapapa’s connections to the land, water, animals, and spiritual entities are imbued with narratives that aid in recollection and provide profound cultural context to place. These narratives offer pathways for communion with the land and water, enabling sensitivity to environmental cues, such as changing seasons, solstices, moon phases, star cycles, and natural rhythms within our inner landscapes of body, heart, and mind, fostering a sense of placefulness.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decolonial (and Anti-Colonial) Interventions to Genealogy)
Open AccessArticle
Breaking Queer Silences, Building Queer Archives, and Claiming Queer Indigenous P’urhépecha Methodologies
by
Mario A. Gómez Zamora
Genealogy 2024, 8(4), 123; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8040123 - 26 Sep 2024
Abstract
In this essay, I recover queer Indigenous P’urhépecha histories in Michoacán, México, by claiming queer P’urhépecha research methods. To do so, I introduce the Indigenous methodology of talking-while-walking, which refers to how I learned to connect with P’urhépecha knowledge and traditions through the
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In this essay, I recover queer Indigenous P’urhépecha histories in Michoacán, México, by claiming queer P’urhépecha research methods. To do so, I introduce the Indigenous methodology of talking-while-walking, which refers to how I learned to connect with P’urhépecha knowledge and traditions through the voice of my P’urhépecha grandfather. Since the colonial system eradicated queer histories from my land, I seek historical narratives about queer people in Michoacán from any source available to me, including oral histories, archives, information in the media, and interviews. I argue that queer P’urhépecha histories are unstable and non-linear, and that P’urhépecha bodies have been hunted and their histories distorted, provoking fear and false speculations about queerness among the collective. I also examine the attachment of P’urhépecha people to gender binary traditions and heteronormativity and how the narratives behind these practices relate to colonial violence and the persecution of queer P’urhépechas. Thus, I demonstrate how P’urhépecha queerness has been marginalized and simultaneously displaced from the archival records while I claim queer P’urhépecha histories and build queer P’urhépecha archives. Finally, I propose a sensitive and personal approach to queer histories guided by the voices of my queer P’urhépecha interlocutors and the histories that my P’urhépecha abuelo passed to me.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Researching Native Families: Challenging Colonial Notions of Native Kinship and Family)
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Open AccessArticle
Between Past and Present: Exploring Cultural Participation and Identity among Carpatho-Rusyn Descendants
by
Andrea Rakushin Lee, Nicolette Rougemont, Philip C. Short and John R. McConnell III
Genealogy 2024, 8(4), 122; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8040122 - 25 Sep 2024
Abstract
Cultural identity and participation play a critical role in understanding culture and its influence on different cultural groups. The Carpatho-Rusyns originate in the Carpathian Rus, which is in the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpatho-Rusyns are a stateless group, and many historically immigrated to other
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Cultural identity and participation play a critical role in understanding culture and its influence on different cultural groups. The Carpatho-Rusyns originate in the Carpathian Rus, which is in the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpatho-Rusyns are a stateless group, and many historically immigrated to other countries. This mixed-method study examines cultural participation and identity among Carpatho-Rusyn descendants (n = 51). Data collection comprised both open-ended and closed-ended survey questions. A link to the survey was shared in Facebook groups that relate to Carpatho-Rusyn culture, genealogy, and history. Closed-ended survey items were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while open-ended items were thematically coded. The findings indicate that most participants do not align with particular Carpatho-Rusyn groups, yet many still uphold cultural traditions, especially related to food and holidays. Qualitative insights emphasize the significance of cultural pride and distinction. Ultimately, this study highlights unique facets of Carpatho-Rusyn heritage and its lasting importance for descendants living in various countries, especially the United States. Finally, this paper concludes with practical implications that center on the importance of developing educational programs, community engagement strategies, and cultural awareness initiatives to preserve and promote the culture.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Racialization, Racial /Ethnic Identity, and the Integration of Immigrants)
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Open AccessArticle
Indigeneity as a Post-Apocalyptic Genealogical Metaphor
by
Arcia Tecun
Genealogy 2024, 8(3), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8030121 - 23 Sep 2024
Abstract
This paper is a theoretical exploration that works through a global Indigenous consciousness. As a critically reflexive story work and auto-ethnographic contemplation it begins by confronting a presumed genealogy in a post-apocalyptic world of coloniality through a global Indigenous lens. Extending beyond racially
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This paper is a theoretical exploration that works through a global Indigenous consciousness. As a critically reflexive story work and auto-ethnographic contemplation it begins by confronting a presumed genealogy in a post-apocalyptic world of coloniality through a global Indigenous lens. Extending beyond racially legalised genealogical ancestry, the metaphysics of indigeneity in the context of Western modernity can be re-positioned as a metaphor of past future human-being-ness or person/people-hood. Global Indigeneity and Indigenous metaphysics are framed as a portal and entry beyond coloniality through fugitive sociality and subversive relationality. Confronting the tensions of colonially purist and racially essentialist categories of indigenous identity, lineages of the post-post-apocalyptic world are forming in the enduring social connections embodied in an Indigenous genealogical consciousness of the present.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decolonial (and Anti-Colonial) Interventions to Genealogy)
Open AccessArticle
The Amhara of Ethiopia: Embracing and Using Imposed Identity to Resist Injustice
by
Tadesse Melaku
Genealogy 2024, 8(3), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8030120 - 18 Sep 2024
Abstract
Ethnic identities often solidify in response to perceived or actual injustices endured by groups. Historically, Amharic-speaking people in Ethiopia have resisted ethnic identification, aligning instead with broader Ethiopian nationalism. However, the rise of extreme ethnonationalist forces in the country has subjected the group
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Ethnic identities often solidify in response to perceived or actual injustices endured by groups. Historically, Amharic-speaking people in Ethiopia have resisted ethnic identification, aligning instead with broader Ethiopian nationalism. However, the rise of extreme ethnonationalist forces in the country has subjected the group to negative narratives, violence, and marginalisation, associating them with past state domination. In response, the Amhara have increasingly embraced ethnic identity as a form of self-defence. This study employs thematic analysis to explore the experiences of the Amhara people and the subsequent emergence of their collective identity, including the rise of resistance movements. Despite this new alignment, Amhara elites and activists paradoxically maintain a strong commitment to Ethiopian unity, reflecting a complex duality in their socio-political stance. This balancing act illustrates their struggle to survive while remaining loyal to national unity. The article argues that sustained violence and marginalisation have catalysed the rise of Amhara group consciousness, transforming Ethiopia’s political landscape. This study offers broader insights into how group mentality can emerge as a response to systematic and sustained injustice and the implications this has for redefining power politics in Ethiopia and beyond, providing insights for policymaking and future research.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Decolonizing East African Genealogies of Power)
Open AccessArticle
“Our Children Are Dead”: Past and Anticipated Adversity Shaping Caregiving and Cultural Reproduction among Banyamulenge Refugee Families in Rwanda
by
Benjamin Tuyishimire, Juul M. Kwaks and Lidewyde H. Berckmoes
Genealogy 2024, 8(3), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8030119 - 18 Sep 2024
Abstract
It is well known that experiences of extreme adversity strongly impact caregiving and family dynamics. In this study, we explore how caregiving is shaped by experiences of war and displacement among a community experiencing protracted, ongoing conflict and displacement, namely, Congolese Banyamulenge refugee
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It is well known that experiences of extreme adversity strongly impact caregiving and family dynamics. In this study, we explore how caregiving is shaped by experiences of war and displacement among a community experiencing protracted, ongoing conflict and displacement, namely, Congolese Banyamulenge refugee families in Rwanda. The findings are based on six months of ethnographic team research with Banyamulenge refugee families living in semi-urban southern Rwanda. Among the caregivers, including people who arrived several years ago and others who have lived in Rwanda for over two decades, we found a strong longing for home and past cattle-herding life. We also found that caregivers emphasized the transmission of “survival tactics” as well as Banyamulenge identity and culture. We argue that these caregiving objectives and practices speak to the community’s experiences of material and existential losses in the past, as well as those anticipated in the unknown future. Second, parental caregiving efforts appear to lead to increased intergenerational dissonance, with children wishing to integrate into their host community. While this finding appears in line with much of the migration literature about intergenerational family relationships and conflict, we find that children’s orientation is not only informed by the host environment but also stems from a desire to relieve their parents’ suffering from loss and help them invest in more optimistic futures. Finally, while our findings suggest profound changes in social and cultural reproduction in the long term, we argue for caution, as ongoing changes in war dynamics in DR Congo may inform shifts in ideas on belonging among the children. The findings provide new insights for understanding how caregiving may be affected by war and displacement while effecting change in war-affected, displaced communities.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Family, Generation and Change in the Context of Crisis)
Open AccessCommunication
Mai kāpae i ke a‘o a ka makua, aia he ola ma laila: Shifting Power through Hawaiian Language Reclamation
by
Justin Kepo‘o Keli‘ipa‘akaua, Shelley Muneoka and Kathryn L. Braun
Genealogy 2024, 8(3), 118; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8030118 - 13 Sep 2024
Abstract
Language loss hinders the expression of Indigenous Peoples and their unique worldviews, impairing the intergenerational transfer of knowledge. In Hawai‘i, where a vast majority of the population was fluent and “universally literate” in ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i from the mid to late 1800s, colonial impositions
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Language loss hinders the expression of Indigenous Peoples and their unique worldviews, impairing the intergenerational transfer of knowledge. In Hawai‘i, where a vast majority of the population was fluent and “universally literate” in ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i from the mid to late 1800s, colonial impositions drastically reduced the number of fluent speakers to roughly 2000 by the 1970s. Efforts to revitalize the language since then have greatly increased the number of current ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i speakers and resources. Building upon this great work, the Hā Kūpuna National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders at the University of Hawai‘i has initiated projects to contribute to the reclamation of ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i by increasing our contemporary understanding of ancestral Hawaiian perspectives on elders. To support these projects, significant changes in power structures within our organization were necessary. Insights gained from these projects include gaining clarity on the evolution of the usage of the word “kupuna”, identifying more nuanced perspectives on elders, understanding the importance of family relationships on caregiving outcomes, and understanding the importance of carefully translating English words into ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Shifting Structural Power and Advancing Transformational Changes Among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC): Elevating the Voices of the Community)
Open AccessArticle
Gendered Labor Continuum: Immigrant Mothers Confronting Uncertainty and Pandemic Constraints
by
Daniela Ugarte Villalobos and Pelin Gul
Genealogy 2024, 8(3), 117; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8030117 - 13 Sep 2024
Abstract
The literature on migration shows that legal status in receiving countries shapes immigrant experiences. While these studies effectively address the impact of precarious legal statuses on immigrant experiences, they often examine women’s labor in public and private spheres separately. Yet, women’s lives have
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The literature on migration shows that legal status in receiving countries shapes immigrant experiences. While these studies effectively address the impact of precarious legal statuses on immigrant experiences, they often examine women’s labor in public and private spheres separately. Yet, women’s lives have long involved a continuum of paid and unpaid labor. The COVID-19 pandemic brought this continuum into sharp focus by spotlighting the influence of home and work dynamics. This study explores how immigrant women’s labor in both public and private spheres are interconnected. Drawing on 18 initial interviews with Venezuelan mothers in NYC from 2020, and 13 follow-up interviews in 2024, we examine the impacts of structural forces on these women’s labor arrangements and their strategies to navigate these impacts during and after the pandemic. Our findings reveal that while pandemic restrictions disrupted traditional labor market dynamics, they simultaneously intensified women’s engagement in domestic roles. Despite this, the mothers exercised agency by exiting the labor market and engaging in patriarchal bargaining at home. Post-pandemic, they lost access to the coping strategy, and their improved legal status did little to alleviate their labor struggles. This study highlights the significance of a “gendered labor continuum” in contexts that lack institutional support and undervalue immigrant women’s labor.
Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Post-COVID Politics of Displacement: Marginalization, Precarity and Identity)
Open AccessArticle
Indigeneity, Nationhood, Racialization, and the U.S. Settler State: Why Political Status Matters to Native ‘Identity’ Formation
by
Dina Gilio-Whitaker
Genealogy 2024, 8(3), 116; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8030116 - 10 Sep 2024
Abstract
This essay is a chapter excerpted from my forthcoming book, Who Gets to be Indian: Ethnic Fraud and Other Difficult Conversations about Native American Identity The chapter shows the ways that Indianness, framed as Indian or Native American “identity”, is inseparable from state
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This essay is a chapter excerpted from my forthcoming book, Who Gets to be Indian: Ethnic Fraud and Other Difficult Conversations about Native American Identity The chapter shows the ways that Indianness, framed as Indian or Native American “identity”, is inseparable from state subjectivity based on the history of political relations between tribes and the United States. It argues that tribes’ political status and relationship to the state are central to how Native American identity is shaped, rejecting the understanding of Native identity as race-based. The term “Indigenous” is discussed as not being equivalent to “Native American” and is not a racial formation in international fora. Social changes during the twentieth century brought new ways to diffuse and co-opt Nativeness through disaggregating it from political status and reinforcing racialization with the rise in urban pan-Indianism and neo-tribalism. Distinguishing Nativeness as political status from racialization is critical given ongoing attacks on tribal sovereignty in Supreme Court challenges based on alleged violations to the equal protection principle. Native American “identity” is inextricable from tribal nationhood and state formation, and thus cannot simply be dismissed as a colonial construct.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue (Un)Settling Genealogies: Self-Indigenization in Media, Arts, Politics, and Academia)
Open AccessArticle
Negotiating University, Fulfilling the Dream: The Case of Black Students
by
Carl E. James and Michael Asres
Genealogy 2024, 8(3), 115; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8030115 - 7 Sep 2024
Abstract
The experiences of Black students in Canadian higher education shed light on the societal and institutional challenges that influence their social and economic aspirations. In today’s societal and economic context, obtaining a postsecondary education degree is not just preferred but essential for securing
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The experiences of Black students in Canadian higher education shed light on the societal and institutional challenges that influence their social and economic aspirations. In today’s societal and economic context, obtaining a postsecondary education degree is not just preferred but essential for securing the employment opportunities that most young people desire. For Black communities in particular, a university degree is often seen as the primary pathway to upward social mobility. However, Black students’ journeys toward higher education are frequently hindered by systemic barriers and institutional challenges. While there is extensive literature detailing the systemic forces that obstruct access to higher education for Black Canadians, there is limited academic focus on how these forces continue to affect Black students once they enter higher education. This article addresses this gap by investigating the educational experiences of Black students in Canadian universities, emphasizing the challenges posed by systemic racism and institutional barriers. Utilizing data from interviews and focus groups with Black undergraduate and graduate students from a university in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the study explores how historical and contemporary issues of anti-Black racism shape their academic journeys. It discusses the broader implications of these experiences and highlights the need for comprehensive institutional reforms to create genuinely inclusive and equitable educational environments. By centering the voices of Black students, this research aims to contribute to the ongoing dialog on racial equity in higher education.
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Politics of Race, Ethnic, and Indigenous Peoples Relations in Multicultural Societies)
Open AccessEditorial
Introduction: Wartime Ephemera and the Transmission of Diverse Family and Community Histories
by
Chris Kempshall and Catriona Pennell
Genealogy 2024, 8(3), 114; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8030114 - 6 Sep 2024
Abstract
This Special Issue seeks to broaden our understanding of the role of ephemera and material culture in preserving conflict experiences and memories, with particular focus on the diverse—and potentially subversive—nature of family history, community narration, and generational transmission [...]
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wartime Ephemera and the Transmission of Diverse Family and Community Histories)
Open AccessArticle
Children’s Clothing in a Picture: Explorations of Photography, Childhood and Children’s Fashions in Early 20th Century Greece and Its US Diaspora
by
Margarita Dounia
Genealogy 2024, 8(3), 113; https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy8030113 - 4 Sep 2024
Abstract
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Show Figures
Children’s dress is a constituent element of individual and group identity as well as an indicator of social change. Exploring childhood in three Greek rural communities in Laconia, Kythera, and Crete as well as in their respective diaspora in the United States, this
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Children’s dress is a constituent element of individual and group identity as well as an indicator of social change. Exploring childhood in three Greek rural communities in Laconia, Kythera, and Crete as well as in their respective diaspora in the United States, this study aims at shedding light on the (re)presentation of children in photographic records through clothing, perceived as the material projection on the self and the group (familial, ethnic, transnational). Drawing from theoretical and methodological approaches of distinct fields, such as history, fashion, photography, material and visual studies, and social anthropology, the study explores dynamic changes and shifting meanings in the way children were perceived and projected or asserted themselves through tangible sources, namely photographs, and clothing. The time period examined spans from the 1900s to the late 1930s without rigidly defining, as shifts witnessed in this time period were occurring in the last years of the 19th century, while the aftermath of the 1930s recession years could be felt beyond the period under study.
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