Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses Spring 6-12-2018 Little Russia: Patterns in Migration, Settlement, and the Articulation of Ethnic Identity Among Portland's Volga Germans Heather Ann Viets Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the History Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Viets, Heather Ann, "Little Russia: Patterns in Migration, Settlement, and the Articulation of Ethnic Identity Among Portland's Volga Germans" (2018). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 4440. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.6324 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible:
[email protected]. Little Russia: Patterns in Migration, Settlement, and the Articulation of Ethnic Identity Among Portland’s Volga Germans by Heather Ann Viets A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Thesis Committee: Katrine Barber, Chair Marc Rodriguez Tim Garrison Portland State University 2018 © 2018 Heather Ann Viets Abstract The Volga Germans assert a particular ethnic identity to articulate their complex history as a multinational community even in the absence of traditional practices in language, religious piety, and communal lifestyle. Across multiple migrations and settlements from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, the Volga Germans’ self- constructed group identity served historically as a tool with which to navigate uncertain politics of belonging.