"Eyes of a Storms" explores second-generation South-Asian American women and their perceptions of daily social practices in the United States. The book is a blend of theoretical critique, political analysis, and young peoples' stories, based on a year-long feminist ethnography with a cross-national sample of twenty-five women. Spending a day in the life of each woman, the author ate and drank with them, and talked at length about issues including work, families, food, clothing, partners, and the feelings associated with being a child of immigrants. This research is the sustaining foundation of Eyes of the Storm, and addresses the meaning of national belonging, and lack of belonging.
"Eyes of the Storms" focuses on both conceptual and theoretical perspectives of the social, economic, cultural, aesthetic, and political dimensions of transnational migration. It links the experiences of young people to theoretical analysis, and engages readers through personal, readable essays. The topical focus of the work lends itself to clear-sighted examination of pressing contemporary issues. Suitable for undergraduate and graduate- level students, "Eyes of the Storms" can be used in courses in anthropology, sociology, Asian-American studies, and feminist studies.
This notable work has received several honors including:
-Selection by the South Asian Literary and Theatre Arts Festival for exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
-Selection by the Association of Writers and Writing Programs for a book reading at their Annual Conference in 2012
-Selection as the Outstanding Faculty Publication of the Year at California State University, Fresno in 2009 (This honor was awarded to Chapter Eight of the book.)
Dr. Roksana Badruddoja, a second-generation Bangladeshi-American, received her terminal degree in sociology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Before joining The Partnership for the Homeless as Vice President of Research, Dr. Badruddoja was an Assistant Professor in the Women's Studies Program in the College of Social Sciences at California State University, Fresno, where she taught courses on feminist research methods, women of color in the U.S., feminist activism, and representations of women. Her research in the areas of race and ethnicity, sexuality, gender, religion, and culture, and how these impact South Asian-American women has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals. These include the "National Women's Studies Association Journal," the "Journal of the Association of Research on Mothering," the "International Journal of Sociology of the Family," and the "International Review of Modern Sociology." She is the author of "Eyes of a Storm: Voices of South Asian-American Women" (2010) and is now working on an anthology about the South Asian Diaspora in North America, entitled "We Are The Peppermint Generation Not " "