The four editors of this book are faculty members at the University of Maine- Kim Huisman, an associate professor in the sociology department, has been doing research with immigrants and refugees since 1991. Mazie Hough, associate director of Women in the Curriculum and the women's studies program, is a historian who specializes in nineteenth-century social and women's history, oral history, and the history of sexuality. Carol Toner, Maine studies program director and research associate in history, has studied U.S. oral history and social and labor history, with a focus on Maine history. Kristin Langellier, professor of communication and journalism, teaches courses in performance studies, communication theory, women's studies, and Franco-American studies.
“The recent arrival of thousands of Somalis in the improbable state
of Maine has produced a fascinating, multi-layered story of intense
cultural contrast and complex interaction. Somalis in Maine engages
a great many of those layers, from multiple perspectives. It draws,
in a time of significant anti-immigrant hysteria in America, a
sympathetic portrait of the ‘very networking people’ who, having
survived war and famine in Africa, somehow found their way to the
land of L.L. Bean. The Somalis now living in Maine chose Maine—they
were not resettled there by international agencies or the
government—and their collective and individual reasoning,
priorities, and lived experience are carefully documented in this
engrossing book.”
—William Finnegan, author of A Complicated War: The Harrowing of
Mozambique
“Somalis in Maine is an impressive interdisciplinary volume
that breaks down the academic-activist boundaries by presenting a
theoretically riveting analysis where the research participants
also actively co-produce knowledge and shape the final
story/history. Somalis emerge as dynamic actors shaping their own
destinies while also struggling against complex borders,
boundaries, bureaucracies, and biases. This is a welcome
counter-narrative to recent portrayals and ‘othering’ of Muslims
and a must read for all interested in the emerging African Muslim
communities in America.”
—Cawo Abdi, assistant professor of sociology, University of
Minnesota
“By simultaneously weaving the voices of actual Somali immigrants
with those of social scientists, this anthology will significantly
contribute to our understanding of the complexities of the global
Somali diaspora—particularly at a moment when almost in every
corner of the globe, from Johannesburg, South Africa to Lewiston,
Maine, Somali immigrant communities are facing increased cultural
and religious scrutiny.”
—Abdi Kusow, associate professor of sociology, Iowa State
University
"This book on the Somali story in Lewiston, Maine, is a valuable
resource for all who live in our increasingly diverse state and in
other states experiencing immigration growth. We learn that Somalis
are looking for the same things all Maine people seek: quality of
life."
—Larry Gilbert, mayor of Lewiston, Maine
“This book is a timely documentation of the journey of Somalis into
Maine, capturing the voices of the people and their stories in the
diaspora. This analytical narrative of Somali secondary immigration
demonstrates the lives of immigrants as they settle in their new
adopted homes. For generations to come, these stories will inform
the teething nuances of moving to ‘new lands’ and will educate
others who are yet to experience this life-changing moment.”
—Abdi Roble, founder and photographer of the Somali Documentary
Project; visiting scholar at the Center for African Studies at Ohio
State University
"In this eclectic, wide-ranging mix of academic
essays, personal reflections, autobiographical narratives, and
interview excerpts, the Somali Narrative Project has produced a
wonderfully intimate portrait of Somalis' lives in Lewiston,
Maine. The collaborative work between young
students, older scholars, and community
members offers a compelling model of how to blend
humanistic and empirical research on immigrant experiences."
—Catherine Besteman, professor and chair of the Department of
Anthropology, Colby College
“The Somali Narrative Project is a model of creative, active
learning that engages students in the important roles of
storyteller, historian, and emissary. The anthology that emerged
from this faculty-student collaboration is a rare combination of
young immigrant voices and accessible scholarly studies that
creates a counter-narrative to the contemporary story of the Somali
diaspora in Maine.”
—Daniel F. Detzner, professor of postsecondary teaching and
learning, University of Minnesota; author of Elder Voices:
Southeast Asian Families in the United States.
“The history of African immigration to the United States is vexed
by the concurrent history of slavery. And yet, today more than
ever, Africans seek refuge on American soil in some of the
unlikeliest of places. Somalis in Maine weaves together this
complicated history through the words of Somali immigrants
themselves, as well as through scholars who want to understand why
Maine, considered the ‘whitest state in America,’ has become home
to this particular group of Africans in the diaspora. At once
moving, compelling, and complex, Somalis in Maine represents a
watershed moment in African diaspora studies.”
—E. Patrick Johnson, professor and department chair, Department of
African American Studies, Northwestern University
“At the core, these narratives are a window into building an open
dialogue rather than shutting people into neatly defined
stereotypes. Somalis in Maine shows us a community in the midst of
change. Like all oral narratives, these stories subvert the
mainstream commonly held beliefs and sound bites that focus on
conflict and misunderstanding, and show us a displaced community of
Somalis in the process of building and rebuilding their lives.”
—Judith Sloan, radio producer, actress, and coauthor with Warren
Lehrer of Crossing the BLVD: strangers, neighbors, aliens in a new
America.
“This is a precious and beautiful book that honors the power of
“small stories” in “small spaces” that traverse time and place to
touch us all with the urgency of their importance, the soul of
their humanity, and the grand eloquence of their meanings. The
stories of Somali and the Somali Diaspora deserve our attention
because, as this compelling book demonstrates, they contain and
perform those universal, yet unique and poignant moments of
culture, identity, and belonging in the making. This is a book of
life and breath encounters—of the foreign, the familiar, and the
in-between—told through the voices of Somalis and those who know
how to listen with the heart and learn with purpose.”
—D. Soyini Madison, PhD, professor of performance studies and
anthropology, Northwestern University
“Somalis in Maine: Crossing Cultural Currents is a fascinating book
about the experiences of Somali refugees who ended up in Maine. It
provides a wide range of perspectives and voices, ranging from
young Somali Americans who talk about various aspects of their
lives in past and present to academic scholars who describe and
analyze their conversations with Somalis living in Maine. As such,
it is a rich compilation that does full justice to the complexities
of having to flee your own country, living as a refugee in the
region, and ‘becoming’ a Somali American upon resettlement. The
book offers a rare insight into people’s motivations, dreams, fears
and the challenges they face in building life from scratch. As
such, it is a highly recommendable read.”
—Cindy Horst, senior researcher, Peace Research Institute Oslo
“When a project draws different members of a diverse community into
a broad but focused engagement, it can both reflect and shape that
community. This book represents such a project. The Somali-American
experience in Maine is here presented by youth and grown-ups,
students and professors, and administrators and artists whose
(his-)stories derive from both sides of the hyphen. They come
together in this book to tell us about what they have learned from
and about each other. Apart from delighting and informing a general
readership, it will also serve as a great teaching text.”
—Lidwien Kapteijns, Kendall/Hodder Professor of History, Wellesley
College
“Somalis in Maine: Crossing Cultural Currents enhances our
understanding of recent immigration in the United States by
exploring the experiences of East African Muslim refugees in Maine.
Through a combination of scholarly essays and first-hand accounts
by Somali community members, this work sheds light on pre-migration
experiences in Somalia, regional migrations in Africa, migration to
and re-migration in the United States, and settlement and community
formation in Lewiston, Maine. Somalis in Maine illustrates well the
challenges that Somali immigrants have faced in all of these
aspects of the migration experience. This work also considers the
tensions Somalis have faced within their own community as they have
sought to adapt to life in U.S. society. Like the French-Canadian
immigrants who preceded them to Lewiston, Somalis appear to be
actively negotiating the terms of their entry into U.S. society,
thus challenging contemporary notions of the process of
assimilation.”
—Mark Paul Richard, State University of New York at Plattsburgh;
author of Loyal but French: The Negotiation of Identity by
French-Canadian Descendants in the United States
“This extremely well-written book makes a noteworthy contribution
to the study of ethnic Americans. Significantly enhancing the
authors’ thorough documentation of the complex dynamics of newcomer
and community interaction is their extensive utilization of the
rich tradition of Somali storytelling to elicit multiple voices and
diverse perspectives. This collaborative involvement between
trained objective observers and those caught between two worlds
does more than deepen our understanding of this mostly unknown
group. The authors’ research approach and the resulting recorded
dialogues also should serve as a model for future ethnographers
wanting to present an accurate, even-handed, and mutually
beneficial study of a people.”
—Vincent N. Parrillo, professor and graduate director, William
Patterson University; author of Strangers to these Shores
“Somalis in Maine covers an amazing array of subjects: leadership
in the Somali community, gender issues, education, and barriers to
employment, which, for Somali women, for example, include their
need to wear specific items of clothing, like the hijab. The
section about storytelling is especially fascinating. … The stories
told here are stories of suffering and danger and finding a new
home. They are new stories, not old ones. They are, however,
without doubt, the most vital and poignant sections of this
volume.”
—Down East Magazine
Ask a Question About this Product More... |