http://hdl.handle.net/2451/64017 2026-04-09T02:26:14Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/64398 Title: Being British vs being American: Identification among second-generation adults of Nigerian descent in the US and UK Authors: Imoagene, Onoso Abstract: This paper explores the important roles national identity and legacies of the past play in shaping the meanings second-generation adults of Nigerian descent attach to being British or American. Whether a country's national identity is inclusive or exclusive of immigrants, and whether its national myths have emotive appeal also affects the sense of welcome and belonging that the second generation feel. Comparing the USA and the UK, I find that although the USA has taken a laissez-faire approach to multiculturalism, its national identity has strong emotive appeal and is accepted by the majority of the second generation. The UK is a contrary case; despite its official policy of multiculturalism, it has not seen widespread articulation of shared national sentiments and myths among its second generation. From careful analyses, it is clear that multicultural policies are not making a big difference. 2012-01-03T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/64397 Title: Affecting lives: How winning the US Diversity Visa impacts DV migrants pre-and post-migration Authors: Imoagene, Onoso Abstract: Usual debates about the diversity visa (DV) programme revolve around the impact of DV initiated mass migration on African countries’ development, on whether the programme sufficiently diversifies U.S. immigrant streams, and on whether there is a tradeoff in immigrant quality for diversity. This article seeks to extend the focus of these debates by examining the impact of the diversity visa programme on DV migrants at the micro-level pre- and post-migration. Based on in-depth interviews with sixty-one diversity visa lottery winners from Ghana and Nigeria, the article examines how this immigration policy has become a contextual determinant of immigrant incorporation. It argues that an account of the impact of immigration policies on immigrants pre- and post-migration must be added to theorization of state agency in shaping migration flows. It concludes with a discussion on ways the diversity visa programme can be modified to facilitate incorporation of DV migrants in the United States. 2017-07-06T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/64396 Title: Broken bridges: An exchange of slurs between African Americans and Africans and its impact on identity formation among the second generation of Nigerian ancestry Authors: Imoagene, Onoso Abstract: This article examines the use of slurs between members of different ethnic groups within the black racial category in the United States—specifically, the second generation of Nigerian ancestry and African Americans, as reported by the second generation of Nigerian ancestry. Studies on inter-group usage of slurs have mostly focused on the use of racial slurs targeting African Americans, the use of racial and ethnic slurs targeting non-black racial/ethnic groups, and the use of sexist slurs targeting people of different gender and sexual orientation. There has been limited analysis of use of slurs between ethnic groups within the black racial category in the United States. My investigation shows that slurs are part of the process of identity formation for the second generation. Also, the use of slurs between these two ethnic groups within the black category provides more evidence for Croom's (2010, 2011, and 2013) point that slurs do not always have to be used in a derogatory manner. It adds to what we know about the nonderogatory use of slurs by showing that a slur can be used as a socialization tool for young in-group members. I show that slurs can be appropriated by the group using the slur to target out-group members and that slurs can also be used within their own group to send a cautionary message to group members based on the derogatory meanings that are infused into the slur. 2015-10-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/64395 Title: Stepping up your game: Workplace experiences of second-generation Nigerians in the United States Authors: Imoagene, Onoso Abstract: This article discusses the workplace experiences of second-generation Nigerian adults in the USA. Drawing on data from semi-structured interviews with 67 respondents, I show that second-generation Nigerians differ in whether they perceive racial discrimination in the workplace. There was an almost even split between subjects who felt they had been discriminated against because of their race and those who said they had not experienced anti-black discrimination. For those who felt they had been racially discriminated against at work, their experiences took very similar forms to those of African Americans, with many drawing analogies between their workplace experiences and those of African Americans and other blacks. But there was evidence of intra-black dynamics with some experiencing ethnic discrimination from African Americans and some enjoying an advantage over African Americans because they are children of black immigrants. I showcase two strategic responses found among respondents: minimizing ethnic difference and stepping up one’s game, which were used to negotiate racism and achieve economic mobility. This is consistent with the minority cultures of mobility thesis; that minority groups have cultures of mobility that foster upward social mobility, and it challenges segmented assimilation theory’s perception that black immigrant groups and their children lack tenacity or adaptive strategies. 2018-02-20T00:00:00Z