When the University of Chicago was founded in 1892 it established the first sociology department in the United States. The department grew rapidly in reputation and influence and by the 1920s graduates of its program were heading newly formed sociology programs across the country and determining the direction of the discipline and its future research. Their way of thinking about social relations revolutionized the social sciences by emphasizing an empirical approach to research, instead of the more philosophical "armchair" perspective that previously prevailed in American sociology. The Chicago School Diaspora presents work by Canadian and international scholars who identify with what they understand as the "Chicago School tradition." Broadly speaking, many of the scholars affiliated with sociology at Chicago understood human behaviour to be determined by social structures and environmental factors, rather than personal and biological characteristics. Contributors highlight key thinkers and epistemological issues associated with the Chicago School, as well as contemporary empirical research. Offering innovative theoretical explanations for the diversity and breadth of its scholarly traditions, The Chicago School Diaspora offers a fresh approach to ideas, topics, and approaches associated with the origins of North American sociology. Contributors include Michael Adorjan (University of Hong Kong, China), Gary Bowden (University of New Brunswick), Jeffrey Brown (University of New Brunswick), Tony Christensen (Wilfrid Laurier University), Luis Cisneros (postdoctoral scholar, University of Arizona), Gary A. Cook (Beloit College), Mary Jo Deegan (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), Scott Grills (Brandon University), Mervyn Horgan (University of Guelph), Mark Hutter (Rowan University), Benjamin Kelly (Nipissing University), Rolf Lindner (Humboldt University & HafenCity University, Germany), Jacqueline Low (University of New Brunswick), Mourad Mjahed (Peace Corps, Rabat, Morocco), DeMond S. Miller (Rowan University), Edward Nell (New School for Social Research), David A. Nock (Lakehead University), Defne Över (PhD candidate, Cornell University), George Park (Memorial University), Thomas K. Park (University of Arizona), Dorothy Pawluch (McMaster University), Robert Prus (University of Waterloo), Antony J. Puddephatt (Lakehead University), Isher-Paul Sahni (Concordia University), Roger A. Salerno (Pace University), William Shaffir (McMaster University), Greg Smith (University of Salford, UK), Robert A. Stebbins (University of Calgary), Izabela Wagner (Warsaw University, Poland and CEMS EHESS - School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences, France), and Yves Winkin (ENS Lyon, France).

In the introduction to his book, Yohannan Friedmann wrote that the Ahmadiyya has been one of the “most active and controversial movements within modern Islam”. Indeed, the Muslimness of the Ahmadis has been debated ever since the inception of the movement in the 19th century, where several successive fatwas declared its supporters to be heretics and deviants. In Pakistan, this Muslim minority will be declared non-muslim through a Constitutional amendment and later an Ordinance will go as far as criminalizing their right to be Muslims. The community will thus face a wave of persecution and violence under the sight of the Pakistani State's silence. In 1984, the community led by a caliphate will find refuge in Britain and will start to explore the freedom to express and display their religious identity in a visible manner. Through the theoretical framework of two sociologists of the School of Chicago - Howard Becker and Erving Goffman - and their work on deviant communities, this book explores to what extent the lack of recognition of the Muslim identity of Ahmadis in Pakistan evolves in the specific diasporic context of Britain. This book examines the relationship between the treatment of a politically controlled minority in a theocracy and the modalities of its importation into a Western democracy.

This book traces the development of a Lithuanian sense of peoplehood and unravels their invisible configuration of values. By analyzing the dynamics of their diaspora mentality, the work presents a picture of a people armed with an ideology that enables them to nonviolently confront the first principles of American nationality. Contents: Old World Roots; Emergence of a Lithuanian Community in Chicago; A New Wave of Emigration in the Making; Exiles Not Immigrants; Establishment of Institutions to Deflect Assimilation; A Catholic Identity; Lithuanian Involvement in Organized Political Action.

"Although there have been some discussions about `diaspora' in the past, this has been more pronounced in the intellectual and public domain during the last decade of the 20th century. Why has `diaspora' attracted such scholarly interest only recently? Who are the protagonists who have made important contributions to the field? This comprehensive collection of essays provides some answers by focusing on themes such as immigration, transnationalism, ethnicity, identity, religion, politics, citizenship, gender, sexuality, and hybridity which comprise the domain of diaspora studies. This book will be useful not only to sociologists but also to scholars working in the fields of social anthropology, political science, geography, history, philosophy, literary, cultural and ethnic studies."

Essay from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 2.0, University of Heidelberg, language: English, abstract: The title of the movie Sankofa, directed by Haile Gerima in 1993, has been carefully chosen. Sankofa is a word from the Akan people of Ghana for a special, mythological bird, which turns its head back to hold the egg upon its back. Thus, by taking care of its egg, the future generation is ensured. The Sankofa bird has become a symbol in Ghana and other parts of west Africa which stands for the concept that one has to look back, rediscover and reclaim the past in order to face the future and move forward. Gerima variously integrated this concept in his movie both in the outer plot, i.e. Mona’s realization of her roots in the present, and the inner plot, i.e. within her spiritual journey to the past, especially by means of Mona’s alter ego Shola and the character of Joe, who both have to undergo intensive change until they finally find and realize their true self. So, in this essay, I will first give some background information on Haile Gerima and his motives for making a movie like Sankofa, as far as it is germane to the further theses. Then, I will focus on the characters of Mona, which involves her alter ego Shola, and Joe. I will outline how the Sankofa concept applies to their realization of their true self by means of having an in-depth look at both reasons and development of their change. How and why did the White people try to prevent them from realizing their true self and how were they able to see it in the end despite all the manipulation? In a conclusion I will point out common and differing features of their change, as well as its effect upon themselves.

This volume is organised into four sections: 'Concepts and Overview', 'Migration, Interaction, and hybridity in Southeast Asia', 'Around the Pacific' and 'Between Nationalisms'.