MIC Related Research | Dr. George Fouron

My research focuses on the area of transnational migration. During the past few decades, I have been reporting on the strategies the contemporary Caribbean immigrants have developed and utilized to adapt to the realities and exigencies of the host society. What I have discovered is that in addition to dealing with issue related to race and ethnicity, language has remained one among the most important concerns they have address. While the adult Caribbean immigrants who do not speak English as their native language find it difficult at various degree to master US English due to their age and the exigencies of their daily lives to proceed to their adaptive goals and aspirations, those who migrate with a variety of English that is dissimilar to the US standard form also face a great deal of hurdles as they seek to integrate themselves into the US social construct.  Through the years, I have sought to inform US stakeholders who are genuinely concerned about the future of these groups to pay attention to their travails and those of their progenies as they endeavor to master US English to become full members of the US polity.

Although MIC plans to address the realities of the US Asian populations, there exist many parallels and similarities in these two disparate populations’ adaptive approaches. I am certain that the findings of MIC’s research initiatives will enrich the field of translational migration and will help shed light on the realities of these populations who labor within the US social structure for their benefits and for those of the larger US society. That is why I am interested in participating in MIC’s research initiatives and endeavors.