Trending Ghana: Homeland, Diaspora and Digital Nationalism

My dissertation research examines notions of Ghanaian identity among diasporic actors and those living in the homeland, as constructed via new media — mobile phones, Web portals, Facebook, Twitter, and an emerging transnational news and entertainment industry. How does digital nationalism transform traditional divisions between diaspora and homeland? How is diaspora gendered in virtual and physical spaces? This summer I plan to track discourse around December’s upcoming Ghana presidential elections, a singular event that portends several interesting entry points for the discussion of race, gender and technology studies with individuals such as Nana Konadu, wife of former president Jerry Rawlings, running against the incumbent.