Strangers in New Homelands is a collection of papers emanating from Annual International Conferences on the Social Reconstruction of the concept of home among immigrants in the diaspora. For many immigrants in the diaspora, the concept of home, around which this conference has revolved, evokes confusion, fear, hopes, and aspirations. The presentations in this book therefore seek to throw light on what this concept means for many people who have uprooted themselves from their familiar environments and settled or seek to make new homes out of strange and unfamiliar environments. The contributors in this publication were drawn from the field of researchers on immigrant and refugee movements and settlements, education, community development and front-line immigrant and refugee settlement workers. They draw on experiences from their research, field practice vignettes, personal experiences and case work examples to highlight and explore the critical issues involved in the field of forced and voluntary migration and resettlement around the world, and the settlement of migrants and refugees in new societies. Cumulatively, the contributors examine the challenges of settlement, integration and adaptation that new comers face in host societies. The critical approaches and strong balance of research with applications show the implications of the issues for the profession of social work and allied fields. The scholarship presented here also highlights the implications of the issues discussed for further research and social policy development. Anyone interested in learning about the challenges and intricacies of the migration process around the world must read this book. It is highly recommended for politicians, policy makers, social work professionals, educators and organizations dealing with immigrants and refugees.
About the Author: The editors are practitioners and educators in the field of social work and social studies and bring their rich experiences and knowledge to bear in the conception and delivery of this publication. Michael Baffoe teaches social work at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. His research and practice interests include anti-oppression approaches to social work practice, immigrant and refugee movements, settlement and integration, and local and international community development. Maria Cheung teaches social work at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. Her areas of specialization include cross-cultural studies on marriage, immigrant and refugee issues, gender and social work with women, and clinical evaluation. Lewis Asimeng-Boahene is an educator of Social Studies Education at the School of Behavioural Sciences, Penn State University, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. His research interests include diasporan and multicultural issues, social studies and indigenous knowledge literature as pedagogical tools in content area classrooms. Buster Ogbuagu is a social work professional and educator at the School of Social Work, University of St. Francis, Illinois, USA. His areas of expertise and teaching are in policy, ethics, child welfare and multiculturalism, in which he utilizes anti-oppressive approaches to inform and practice.