South Asians and the problem of the color line: migration, race, and identity in South Africa and the United States

Modern migration has resulted in the unsettlement of the identities of migrants who live, work, and struggle – for rights, opportunities, and recognition – with other populations in new national contexts. This dissertation considers the identities of South Asian migrants to South Africa and the United States, two nation-states that have been involved deeply in the creation of ideologies of race as well as regimes of racial practice. Focusing on the late 19th century to the late 20th century, I show how South Asian migrants were historically positioned within the racial hierarchies of these two societies, and how they constructed their identities in relation to racial others. I analyze contact, conflict, and cooperation between South Asians and other racial subjects in a comparative, cross-national perspective, and consider the transnational exchange of ideas that led to particular strategies of resistance. I argue that South Asian struggles in South Africa and the United States for rights and recognition resulted in a transnational articulation of modern social movements for national liberation, civil rights, and democracy.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vitaby Kavitha Ramsam