A noted academic will speak tonight about the translocality of immigrants and ties between Washington, D.C., and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Elizabeth Chacko, chair of the Department of Geography at George Washington University, uses translocality — or the cultural changes that occur when people move from one geographic or cultural system into another — as a lens to understand international migration from Ethiopia to the U.S.
“A lot of my research deals with immigrants and Africa by using the case of the Ethiopian immigrant community in the United States,” she said.
Chacko will explain how identities, histories, imaginaries and communities span hierarchical and lateral scales between neighborhoods, cities and countries.
The nature and significance of translocal connections forged by the Ethiopian diaspora between Addis Ababa and Washington will be one of the lecture’s focuses, she added.
“I plan to demonstrate how our connections are not so much country-to-country but place-to-place,” she said.
OU’s Department of Geography and African Studies Department invited Chacko to speak about her research.
Brad Jokisch, chair of the colloquium committee and associate professor in the geography department, said he believes bringing Chacko to OU helps expose undergraduate and graduate students to many different perspectives.
Jokisch said he believes students can find out a lot about what is happening between Ethiopia and the U.S. capital.
“You will be able to see how they are connected and how what goes on in the United States and elsewhere affects her (research),” he said.
Chacko said she believes she can give a better understanding of African immigration.
“Immigration is going to change our culture and response to things such as the way we live our life,” she said.
Jokisch contacted the African Studies Department about co-sponsoring the event.
When topics in the colloquia series overlap into other departments, Jokisch tries to work with others to share expenses.
“It’s a very good thing when you can bring in a speaker like this that interests stretch across a lot of the region,” he said.
In the past year, Chacko has spoken on the topic at several other schools and conferences including Western Illinois University and the University of Maryland.
“Her research is very important and current in examining how migration can be used for development purposes,” Jokisch said.
The lecture will take place at 7 tonight in 145 Walter Hall and will follow the typical format of the colloquia series with a lecture for about 35 minutes followed by a Q&A session, Jokisch said.
As for picking guests for the rest of Fall Quarter’s colloquia events, Jokisch said he tries to choose from a number of speakers on campus to allow students and faculty to learn what other faculty members on campus are doing.
Chacko said she hopes her presentation will show there are people in Washington who are connected to people in Addis Ababa — and not just the country in large, but in schools and work places.
“I want to debunk the idea that we should just look in one part of the country,” she said. “You can learn a lot about how people are putting their lives together across the country.”
af234909@ohiou.edu
