For those of you interesting in helping please respond to Karen Straight
at [EMAIL PROTECTED] She would graciously accept any type of
consideration.
Thanks,
Sarika
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2000 10:47:50 EST
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Research on South Indian Immigrants
Karen Straight
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
phone: (503) 649-5267
Dear Sarika Patel,
I am an instructor in the department on Anthropology at Oregon State
University working on my dissertation for my doctorate on South Indian high
tech and college educated homemaker immigrants in the Portland area. I am
writing to you in the hopes that after reading a little more about myself and
my research, you might be willing to put me in touch with a few potential
interviewees who meet the requirements of my research. I need to interview
75 South Indians, so as you can imagine, any help you can provide would be
greatly appreciated!
I would like to share a little more about myself and my research with you.
My doctoral dissertation research focuses on the assimilation experiences of
South Indian men and women working in high tech and women working in the
home. I am interested in a range of questions from identity maintenance and
gender roles to social networks. There is surprisingly little research on
South Indians in particular and highly educated immigrants in general. Even
less research looks at how men and women experience assimilation differently.
Research in this area will help us to know more about the Indian experience
in America, including some of the central problems they face as well as
sources of pleasure and community.
In order to explore these questions, I am interviewing 25 high tech South
Indian men, 25 high tech South Indian women, and 25 college educated South
Indian homemakers who are married and have lived in the U.S. between 4 and 20
years. Most likely, I have spoken with a few additional friends and
acquaintances of yours such as Sri Renganathan, Thomas Joseph, and many
others.
My interest in India goes back several years. However, I began to focus on
Indian immigrants in the Portland area a year ago when I began to attend a
few community events and came to know other members of the community
privately. The information gathered during the interviews is confidential; I
will protect the identity of my sources by using the data in aggregate form.
If I quote an individual in the text of my dissertation, I will carefully
conceal the individual's identity.
I think it is important that I provide you with a few references. Sri
Renganathan, an individual involved in many South Indian organizations,
knows me well. I am currently teaching in the Anthropology department at
Oregon State University. Sunil Khanna, a professor of Anthropology at OSU,
would be happy to provide you with information about my work (541-737-3859).
I am working on my dissertation as a graduate student at the University of
Massachusetts @ Amherst (my committee was kind enough to allow me to return
to Portland for research). Dr. Sue Model (413-545-5975) is on my committee.
Again, I would greatly appreciate any help you can provide. I would also be
happy to answer any additional questions about my research.
Sincerely,
Karen Straight
