Undergrad students Asma Shakul and Awa Kane showcase their research at their first academic conference
The UTM Department of Sociology is proud to share that two of our undergraduate students, Asma Shakul and Awa Kane, recently participated in their first academic conference. The EIR Regional Conference ran from May 5th to 7th, 2023 at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
For more information about the Eastern International Region of the American Academy of Religion, visit their website: https://eiraar.org
Below, students Asma Shakul and Awa Kane share a bit about their research:
Our research is “Dynamics of Exclusion Within Inclusion: The Case Of Black Muslim Immigrant University Students”.
Our research discusses the specific narratives of Identity which individualize the experience of Black Immigrant Muslims in Canada. We explored the identities of immigrant university students in Ontario, with a particular emphasis placed on Black Muslim students when contrasted with the immigration experiences of non-Black Muslim students. The objective of our study was to know how does racial identity shape these students' interactions, and lived experiences, and defines their realities as they migrate to Canada and form new communities?
We centered our research on the complex intersections of race and religion from the point of view of young immigrants. These students frequently engage in identity regulation as they form social belonging and force their identities to fit into the molds of certain communities, with this pressure often tainting their internalized identity validation. Throughout this research, one of our primary areas of focus has been on the dynamics of exclusion that isolate Black Muslim students from their counterparts in non-Black Muslim and non-Muslim Black circles, as it consistently presents itself throughout the research. Through semi-structured interviews with seven (7) different young immigrants of varying racial, religiosity, and visibility we were able to explore the nuances of identity, community, and social belonging which define the way young, racialized Muslim immigrants move throughout their larger social network and institutions.