"That is when we were dreaming." How do the South Sudanese diaspora in the UK negotiate their national identity?

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This fellowship is about bridging the gap between being an 'apprentice' researcher as a PhD student and working independently as a fully-fledged sociologist. My PhD laid important groundwork through focusing on research methods - that is, thinking about how we can go about understanding social things, what works and how our methods shape how we see things. My goal through this fellowship is to apply this knowledge to answer important real-world questions about migration, community cohesion and reconciliation of violent conflict.I have the beginnings of a project with the South Sudanese community in the UK which brings together these important issues. South Sudan is the world's newest country, having separated from Sudan in 2011 after over fifty years of devastating civil war. However, after the hype and hope of independence, a new civil war broke out in 2013 which has shattered the sense of unity between citizens of the new state. Through group discussions using photographs taken during the campaign for independence, I will explore how South Sudanese citizens living in the UK see their national identity, which affects both their life in the UK and their political involvement in their home country.Sharing what I discover is an important responsibility of this fellowship - first and foremost with the South Sudanese community in the UK and internationally. It is also important for government, business and civil society organisations in the UK involved in managing migration and supporting communities to integrate and participate economically. Internationally, how a shared sense of national identity supports attempts to restore peace is a pressing issue. Through seminar presentations, blogs and more formal policy briefings I will ensure that a wide audience can learn from this project. At a time when questions surrounding migration to the UK, identity and belonging loom large, I will also support a younger generation to grapple with what these questions mean in their communities through a creative programme with secondary school pupils.As an academic sociologist, I will also need to hone a range of skills, such as teaching, presenting research and academic writing. I will submit articles based on my PhD and drawing on my South Sudanese project to academic journals, participate in workshops and conferences that bring together people working in similar areas, channel my enthusiasm into teaching degree students, and seek out training in areas where I need to grow my knowledge and ability.Beyond this fellowship, I aspire to take my research further by comparing the experiences of South Sudanese people in the UK with those who have settled in other countries. Unlike the UK, where the small South Sudanese community is mainly made up of people who had the means to migrate in the 1980s and 1990s for educational opportunities, Australia actively resettled large numbers of refugees from South Sudan, while the largest group of citizens outside South Sudan is in neighbouring Uganda. When and how these people migrated and the very different environments they arrived in are likely to have influenced their experiences and outlooks. To pave the way for this future project, during the fellowship I will organise placements and/or networking visits in both Australia and Uganda. This will mean I can develop contacts and learn from local people and organisations to design the research in the most appropriate and culturally sensitive way for different contexts. Doing research requires significant resources, and I will also seek out organisations that are likely to be interested in the kinds of questions I am asking and design bids for funding that will enable me to turn this aspiration into a reality.