Research On Transnational And Diasporic Identity

Transnationalism is defined as as “the process by which immigrants forge and sustain multi-stranded social relations that link together their societies of origin and settlement.”(lecture Mixtects). When a native person becomes a transnational they are then participating in sustaining their culture and memories where ever they travel. Transnationalism implies that native migrants continue to be involved in the life

Throughout the ages, humans from all over the world have created and accepted honorable cultures which they feel a strong connection to and are dependent upon. One’s way of living demonstrates nationality, religion, ethnicity, and art. People who have more than one culture, have been torn between two worlds that have eventually affected their lives. The cultural identities portrayed in both Self Portrait: On the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States by Frida Kahlo and “Legal Alien” by Pat Mora are shown through the symbolism, theme/message, and persona created in the works.

No diasporic community manifests all of these characteristics or shares with the same intensity an identity with its scattered ancestral kin. In many respects, diasporas are not actual but imaginary and symbolic communities and political constructs; it is we who often call them into being.” (Palmer)

Migrants cultivate their status as outsiders in a variety of ways. Some migrants are able to collaborate their identities with both the aspects of their ethnic heritage and their local community, at times managing to create a dignified sort of reputation within a sea of suspicious gazes. Then there are some who refuse to perceive their heritage as part of their individual identities, while doing their utmost to belong to a community separate from that of their parents. The struggles of various migrant communities and individuals are difficult to transfix at a simple point. What does appear to be the most prominent strand of commonality, however, is the idea that while migrants may not be able to guarantee a way to avoid being seen as outsiders by others, it is within their everyday abilities to refine their relationships as migrants towards others as they

The question of identity is always a difficult one for those living in one culture, yet belonging to another. This question frequently lingers in the mind of most immigrants, especially the second generations who were born in a country other than their parents’ motherland. They feel culturally displaced as they are simultaneously living in two cultures. On the one hand, they no longer feel emotionally attached and cannot fully identify themselves with their indigenous culture; while on the other hand, when they wish to adopt the identity of the new culture, they have not been fully accepted as its members.

Whether it is gender, sexuality, religion, race, ethnicity or nationality people’s self-concept is structured around multiple identifiers. Depending on context some identifiers are more predominant than others, however, these identities enable people the ability to understand and differentiate themselves from others. While all identities are important, a crucial dimension of identity often dismissed as a major contributor to self-individuality is national identity (Baldwin, 157). Partaking in a culture, society or community for a length of time the recognition of nationalism begins to diminish. The constant participation of a nationality becomes the “norm” and it is not until withdrawn from a nation that the acknowledgement of national identity occurs. Speaking from personal experience, my national identity had never been as dominant than my time spent studying abroad in the London. While I identified as an American, I never felt American until I came overseas. Customs, language, and practices were foreign to me and fitting into the culture was a learning process. In order to feel as though I belong somewhere in this new community, I found security in identifying with and as an American. Simply, I developed an imagined community to reconnect with my home country. When place in situations where exclusion from people’s nation occurs finding comradeship through imagined communities reproduces the sense of belonging, but also alter one’s self-understanding by unveiling an

In this assignment, the strengths and weaknesses of the claim that migration creates global connections, will be discussed. This will be done by discovering what counts as migration and how it is valued, how global connections can be both positive and negative, about the concepts of 'diaspora' and 'translocalism' and how important they are when considering both migration and global connections. To enable the discussion of the subject matter, it must first be understood what is meant by the terms 'migration' and 'global connections', migration is used to describe the circulation of people from their country of origin into

The Central Theme in the forth chapter of On Being Different is about Multiculturalism and on self identity. The way that we view ourselves is different than how others might view us.

He especially focuses on the juxtaposition of diaspora against concepts of the “nation-state” and on the flip side, against ideas of “indigenous” people. He feels that “the term diaspora is a signifier, not simply of transnationality and movement, but of political struggles to define the local, as distinctive community, in historical contexts of displacement". His examination of the use of diasporic language in the context of “tribal” and indigenous people is especially interesting, since as he is clear to point out, “tribal cultures are not diasporas; their sense of rootedness in the land is precisely what diasporic peoples have lost”, however when the discussion is about indigenous peoples who have been displaced, which is often the case, much of this language and framework used to discuss diasporas is readily

Transnationalism is a newer term than the two-thousand-year-old term of the diaspora. Although it shares some characteristics with the diaspora, It is difficult to distinguish these terms as the definition of diaspora has expanded (Safran 1991; Brubaker 2005) As reported by King and Christou (2011), many scholars use these terms interchangeably. A migrant can be a member of diaspora without being transnational and vice versa. Faist (2010, p.9) describes these terms as ‘awkward dance partners’. Levitt (2001b: 202 as cited in Brettell, 2006) clarifying the use of these two terms, recognized that while diaspora is used more widely to describe people who have been displaced by different forces, a transnational community is a set of potential diasporas that may or may not be formed. Moreover, Van Hear (1998: 249, as cited in Brettell, 2006) supported that transnational communities highlight the allegiances both to sending and receiving country but diaspora forms “broadly expanded allegiances”. Although, there are many scholars who determine that diasporas are part of transnational communities (Brettell,2006). Still others like Vertovec (1999:449 as cited in Brettell, 2006) suggested that diasporas of old have been transformed to today's transnational communities maintaining various types of social organization, mobility, and communication. Bauböck and Faist, (2010) recognized a similarity between these terms is that both usually describe cross-border ties among regions of origin, destination and others region where migrants live. According to Bauböck and Faist, (2010) diasporas are shaped around an unsettled country while transnational communities do not contest the home or host country and are economically oriented. Additionally, transnationalism does not imply an uprooting from the homeland nor bad causes as in the case of the diaspora. Also, members of

Firstly, second-generation immigrants do not feel connected to their homeland; instead their identity is tied to the place they were born. In a study conducted with Canadian-born Chinese (CBC) young adults, researchers claim: “migration involves constituting a sense of belonging in a new place while maintaining ties to the place of origin” (Kobayashi and Preston 235). This was concluded after many participants articulated a contested sense of belonging. When the old culture is abandoned, most often by second-generation immigrants, they do not connect to their cultural origins. Likewise, when the new

As we have established globalisation was a geo-eco political phenomena, that among many other aspects allowed the free moment of people. Migration of people for various reasons seems to be one of the posters of the success of globalisation. however, the important aspect is not just the act of migration- usually associated with diaspora, but also the discourses of the culture identities and loyalties. As Arjun Appaduria (1996) argues in his book ‘Modernity at Large’, such deterritorialization prospers on the need of the diaspora for the establishment of some sort of contact with its homeland, as the homeland is partly invented and imagines within the deterritorialized groups, the fantasy of an

Culture is an essential feature of one’s identity through self-perception and group association (King, Perez & Shim, 2013). Migration thus contributes to culture as it involves travelling from one place of residence to settle within another. As they must adjust to a new society, migrants typically experience the alteration of social norms, loss of support networks and changes in ethnic identity through self-actualisation (Bhugra & Becker, 2005). Kelly and her family migrated from Dunedin, New Zealand to Queensland, Australia on January 25th 2011. This

Cultural identity is the basis in which identification is used to express different aspects pertaining to identity and heritage. A person's cultural identity may be created by social organization, as well as traditions and customs within their lives. The two aspects that construct my cultural identity are the frequent chores I must complete every day in order to fulfill my behavioral expectations, and the youth group I attend weekly. These aspects are important to my family and me. Therefore, my identity has an immeasurable effect on my upbringing into this multi-cultural world I live in.

International relations are often conceptualized as interactions between clearly delineated nation-states. In this globalizing world, however, transnational actors are playing an increasingly larger part. Diasporic communities hold significant political clout within their adopted lands, as well as their home countries. Accordingly, several scholars have strived to break away from that traditional dichotomy: the domestic versus the international. Expanding on Robert Putnam’s theory of international negotiations as a two-level process (in which politicians must simultaneously please their domestic constituency and the foreign states they are negotiating with), Yossi Shain and Tamara Coffman Wittes refer to a “three-level game”. Diasporas are distinct from the hostland as well as the homeland, existing in a third space that confers them with unique political agency. To Shain and Wittes, “diasporas cannot be viewed simply as a domestic constituency within their host state but must also be viewed as independent actors in the conflict resolution process” (Shain & Wittes, 172). This distinction is particularly significant in light of the fact that the interests of a diasporic community are not always perfectly aligned with those of the residents of the homeland: Shain and Wittes argue that the primary value of the homeland within the diaspora consciousness is its symbolic power to convey and preserve identity – in contrast to those who live in the homeland, who may have more