Berns-McGown, Rima

Rima Berns-McGown is adjunct professor of diaspora studies with the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Toronto. She holds a PhD from the University of Wales at Aberystwyth and an MA from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University.

Rima was born of a mixed background in Apartheid South Africa, which has fueled her lifelong interest in the creation of socially just diverse societies. Her book Muslims in the Diaspora: The Somali Communities of London and Toronto explored the renegotiation of identity and religion that Somali refugees undertook in the first years after moving into the West. It was followed by articles based on further interviews with Somali women, on political culture, and on the dynamics between diasporic communities and the wider society. Her most recent article, on interviews with Somali-Canadian youth on questions of identity and belonging and entitled “'I am Canadian': Challenging Stereotypes About Young Somali Canadians,” is forthcoming from the Institute for Research on Public Policy. 

Rima is also the senior project advisor and research director of The Mosaic Institute’s imported conflict study project, and the president of the Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs.