Cultural Trauma and Ethnic Identity Formation Among Iranian Immigrants in the United States

2006 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Mobasher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Trauma ◽  
Iranian Immigrants ◽  
Ethnic Identity Formation

“You Are Not Like Me!”

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Onoso Imoagene
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Assimilation Theory ◽  
Segmented Assimilation ◽  
Key Factor

Chapter 2 shows how the proximal host is a crucial actor influencing how the second generation of Nigerian ancestry identify. How the presence of the proximal host affects identity formation among the black second generation is generally overlooked in segmented assimilation theory and is a key factor emphasized in beyond racialization theory. The chapter details how relations with the proximal host in childhood, particularly feelings of rejection and exclusion based on perceived physical and cultural differences, laid the foundation for developing a distinct ethnicity in adulthood. I discuss the responses of the proximal hosts in the United States and Britain to the Nigerian second generation when they were young. What was viewed as discriminatory responses by members of the proximal host by the Nigerian second generation fostered a feeling of being black but different among the Nigerian second generation. The tense relations between proximal hosts and the African second generation required the young Nigerian second generation to start the process of defining what being black meant to them and defining a diasporic ethnic identity differentiating them from their proximal hosts.

Shamanism in Motion, Pentecostalism on Hold, and Maya Mormonism

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-66
Author(s):  
C. James MacKenzie
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Religion And Ethnicity ◽  
Community Attachments

This article examines how religion, including new religious movements as well as older options in new contexts, combines with ethnic and community attachments in shaping the identity of Guatemalan economic migrants in southern California. While the literature on transnationalism tends to view religion and ethnicity as different though sometimes overlapping means by which migrants seek incorporation into new social and political contexts, the ethnographic evidence presented here suggests more complicated dynamics. These are reflected in the experiences of three migrants from a single indigenous community in Guatemala, each with different backgrounds of faith and ethnic identity: a nominal Catholic in his early 20s who is sympathetic to Mesoamerican shamanism though ambivalent about Maya ethnic identity; a middle-aged Pentecostal Christian who is ambivalent about religious practice and belief in the United States and rejects the Maya ethnic label; and a convert to Mormonism in his 30s who has attenuated his ties to his home community while adopting a broader Maya ethnic identity. To interpret these experiences, I develop an analytical framework which draws upon some of Thomas Csordas’ ideas about religion in globalization but stresses a renewed attention to community as a persistent, if ambivalent and perhaps inherently conflictive, site for identity formation, especially in the context of migration.

The Creation of a Norwegian-American Identity in the usa

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-511
Author(s):  
Terje Mikael Hasle Joranger
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Identity ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
Ethnic Identity Formation ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries ◽  
Separate Identity

Ethnic identity formation is the result of a process wherein the migrant combines both pre-existing values and attitudes and present experiences of the same group and its relations with other groups. This article discusses identity formation among Norwegian immigrants in the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In other words, how did Norwegian immigrants arriving from a homogeneous society develop a separate identity in the multicultural society of the United States, and to what factors can we attribute this development? In a cultural process of change called ‘ethnicisation’, immigrants were transformed from the status of ‘foreigners’ to become ‘ethnics’, that is ‘Norwegian-Americans’. Identity is thus connected to the term ‘ethnicity’, and I will first present different perspectives on the term ethnicity, followed by a short summary of Norwegian migration patterns to the United States up until the early twentieth century. I will end the article by discussing components that explain the existence of a Norwegian-American identity.

Deafness and Ethnic Identity: The Idea of a Deaf State and its Resonances with American Exceptionalism and Frontier Ideology

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-90
Author(s):  
Marion Rana
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
American Exceptionalism ◽  
Manifest Destiny ◽  
The United States ◽  
Culture Studies ◽  
Deaf Identity ◽  
American Nation

Abstract This article focuses on the nineteenth century as a pivotal time for the development of a Deaf identity in the United States and examines the way John Jacob Flournoy’s idea of a “Deaf-Mute Commonwealth” touches upon core themes of American culture studies and history. In employing pivotal democratic ideas such as egalitarianism, liberty, and self-representation as well as elements of manifest destiny such as exceptionalism and the frontier ideology in order to raise support for a Deaf State, the creation and perpetuation of a Deaf identity bears strong similarities to the processes of American nation-building. This article will show how the endeavor to found a Deaf state was indicative of the separationist and secessionist movements in the United States at that time, and remains relevant to Deaf group identity today.

Understanding the Impact of Heritage Language on Ethnic Identity Formation and Literacy for u.s. Latino Children

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 245-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria M. Arredondo ◽  
Melanie Rosado ◽  
Teresa Satterfield
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Latino Children ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Ethnic Identity Formation ◽  
The Impact

Studies show positive associations between ethnic identity, socio-emotional health and academic success. However, most work is carried out with adolescents and few have examined how young children develop an ethnic identity, particularly u.s. Latino children. The present study represents a first-pass investigation of children’s ethnic identity mechanisms and their relation to academic success. We carried out semi-structured interviews in Spanish with 25 Latino children (ages 5–12). Open-ended questions addressed items on the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure and Ethnic Identity Scale, incorporating a mixed qualitative (i.e., themes) and quantitative (i.e., scoring) analysis. Results revealed that children provide great detail when discussing their ethnic background. Additionally, Latino children’s bilingualism and Spanish-language proficiency were significant markers of ethnic identity formation, which in turn were positively associated with affect and Spanish literacy. These findings shed light on the complexities of ethnic identity construction during children’s early years, and establish a path for further investigation of Latino children’s socio-emotional health and academic achievement.

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