Shifting Dwellings: Place, Culture, and Identity of Bangladeshi Immigrant Women in New York, 2000- Present

Abstract

This research focuses on the place-making of first-generation immigrant Bangladeshi women living in New York, primarily by examining their dwellings and a network of locations within their residential environments. New York has the largest number of Bangladeshi immigrants living in the United States. Despite the significant expansion of Bangladeshi communities in New York since the 1980s, the histories of their built environments have been largely undocumented. This is particularly evident for Bangladeshi immigrant women who could not enter the United States before the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. The acculturation process of Bangladeshi women in New York varies by social class, with access to public spaces and educational institutions playing a crucial role. Nevertheless, Bangladeshi immigrant women often initiate their resettlement journey from their dwelling spaces through daily activities and the re-adaptation of spaces. In their daily domestic routines, the common objects used in their households play a significant role, reflecting memories of Bangladesh and expressing their hybrid identities as Bangladeshi immigrants in New York. This dissertation demonstrates a deeper understanding of these women’s experiences and contributions to shaping the Bangladeshi diaspora in New York within their dwellings. This dissertation highlights how gendered identity and agency through individual and collective actions become the product of migration. In this depiction of their worldmaking in New York, it becomes evident that the identities of Bangladeshi immigrant women do not represent a singular existence. Their distinctive methods of expressing temporality to define the systems of settings in their spaces reflect a non-Western perspective on place construction in built landscapes that were not designed for these people. Their agency is expressed through their self-care practices, as well as those for their family members and the community. Bangladeshi immigrant women’s routine activities, both inside and outside their dwellings, reflect their hybrid identities while fostering connections and resistance during resettlement. Particularly in the dwelling spaces, their memories of activities and object practices change over time as they adapt their practices and become more hybrid. By examining their daily routines, I argue that conventional spatial categories do not apply to them. As their bodies navigate their living spaces and frequently visit their neighborhoods for chores, the distinction between their public and private domains blurs as they uniquely engage with their home environments within the Bangladeshi-dominated neighborhoods of New York.