Diaspora and Social Networks in a World War II Japanese American Incarceration Center

• DOI: 10.1007/s10761-020-00573-5
• Publication Date: 2020-11-07T05:02:21Z
• Authors: April Kamp-Whittaker
• Keywords: Diaspora; Relocation; Center (category theory); Social network (sociolinguistics); Social Network Analysis

Social network data demonstrates how communities respond to changes in social structures, like those caused by diasporic movements. Network data from the Granada Relocation Center (Amache), a WWII Japanese American incarceration center in Southeastern Colorado demonstrate the social ties fostered by internees through participation in sporting activities. The importance of previous community membership in the development of social ties is seen in a social network analysis of sport team members. Network data is correlated to archaeological evidence of sporting facilities and their role in the development of community membership and social interaction among a diasporic population.