KSU Researchers Awarded National Geographic Society Grant for Documenting Human Migrations

KENNESAW, Ga. (Sep 6, 2018) — Kennesaw State University researchers Dr. Paul McDaniel (Department of Geography and Anthropology), Dr. Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez (Department of Social Work and Human Services), and Dr. Lara Smith-Sitton (Department of English), along with Dr. Tea Rozman Clark, executive director of Green Card Voices, received a research grant from the National Geographic Society through the Society's program on Documenting Human Migrations. This grant will be used to continue their efforts in developing undergraduate curricula, public outreach materials, and community engagement events related to a recently published book on Atlanta youth immigration experiences.

Their project, “Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from an Atlanta High School,” borrows its title from the book, Rozman Clark, Rodriguez, and Smith-Sitton co-edited. The book is a collection of essays written in first-person by DeKalb County high school students who shared their migration journeys of acclimating to the U.S. Now plans are being made to extend beyond the book project into community-based educational and outreach initiatives to increase understanding of Atlanta’s migrant experiences.  

“Support from the National Geographic Society for this project and topic is timely, given the Atlanta metro region’s position as a major emerging gateway amid the ongoing changes occurring with immigration policy and discourse in the country more broadly,” said McDaniel, assistant professor of geography at KSU. “Initial support from several internal KSU grants paved the way for gaining external support for continuing the project’s momentum.”

Continue reading the full press release here from the KSU Office of Research. 

Green Card Youth Voices Researchers

Dr. Paul McDaniel, Dr. Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez, and Dr. Lara Smith-Sitton attended the Aug. 30 opening reception for the exhibit “Refuge or Refusal: Turning Points in U.S. Immigration History" at KSU's Museum of History and Holocaust Eduction. Three student authors read excerpts of their stories from the book during the program.
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