Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the digital practices for diasporic networking of Somali and Turkish migrant women in Rome, emphasizing a local and intersectional approach to grasp their unique quality. It provides a critical perspective sensitive to social class dynamics and contextual power relations.

Paper long abstract:

This paper focuses on examining the digital practices for diasporic networking of Somali and Turkish migrant women residing in Rome through an intersectional and locally sensitive lens, particularly attuned to social class dynamics. The goal is to provide a unique perspective for comprehending the development and expression of distinct forms of digitally-driven diasporic social connections at a local level. This paper contributes to the academic domain of digital diaspora studies by presenting an alternative and critical viewpoint on the epistemological and methodological approaches to studying the networking of diasporic individuals, particularly enhanced by digital media usage.

This approach is keenly aware of contextual power dynamics as acting within the space of Rome. I illustrate how these contextual power relations, along with migrant women's positioning in relation to them, play a crucial role along the online-offline continuum. This dynamic is integral to the process of migrants' identity formation, community-building, and the articulation of a sense of belonging in a challenging context of displacement. Consequently, my intervention seeks to broaden the scholarly understanding of digital diasporas by exploring the intricate interplay between digital practices, social dynamics, and the lived experiences of diasporic communities.

The empirical investigations put forth in this paper underscore how digital media practices designed for diasporic networking influence local diasporic relationships. By intervening in social stratification dynamics, these studies present innovative approaches through which diasporic women form networks and build communities, navigating multiple, overlapping, and sometimes conflicting feelings of belonging.