scholarly journals Dealing with Cultural Identities: A Study of Nepalese Families in Tokyo

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-62
Author(s):  
Mehta Kalu Singh
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
Native Culture ◽  
Cultural Identity Development ◽  
Cultural Identity Formation ◽  
Depth Interviews

In recent years, the Nepalese migrant population in Japan has increased exponentially. The number reached 88,951 in 2018, becoming the largest south Asian population in Japan. This number includes people in various visa categories: skilled labor, engineer, business, dependent, student and so on. The number of school children lies somewhere around 10,000. A child born and raised in a culture different to their parents’ culture goes through a complex cultural identity formation process. In this context, this paper explores children’s cultural identity development and promotion by migrant Nepalese families in Tokyo. In particular, it examines which cultural identities they are prioritizing and how they are developing host cultural identities while maintaining their native culture. The experiences of these migrant Nepalese parents were collected through in-depth interviews with 45 parents. The responses suggest that these parents are prioritizing the promotion of a Nepalese cultural identity for their child(ren). Parents focus on promoting and participating in Nepalese festivals, cooking Nepalese food at home, and meeting other Nepalese families in Japan. However, almost every parent expressed their desire for the development of a multicultural sense in their child(ren).

“I’m in Between”: Cultural Identities of Chinese Youth in Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-218
Author(s):  
Lin Fang ◽  
Yu-Te Huang
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Nonlinear Process ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Constructivist Grounded Theory ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Chinese Youth ◽  
The Social ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Cultural Identity Development

This constructivist grounded theory study unpacks how Chinese youth in Canada navigate and negotiate their cultural identities. Participants aged 16 to 24 years ( N = 22) were invited to provide a biographic account of where they were born and raised, the social contexts they interacted with, and how they grappled with their cultural identities growing up. Despite noting the differences between Chinese and Canadian cultures, participants found the concepts of culture elusive and questioned the categorical notion of culture. They indicated their cultural identity as being “in-between,” and their identity development as an ongoing, nonlinear process, involving a constant exchange between them and their environments. Study results highlight the fluid and nonstatic nature of cultural identity development in the context of immigration.

Mis Chinos, Tus Chinos: The Orientalism of Chilean K-pop fans

2020 ◽  
pp. 174804852092825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wonjung Min
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Popular Culture ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Indigenous Culture ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Cultural Identity Formation ◽  
Depth Interviews

This article aims to analyze the dual Orientalism of the Chilean fans of K-pop. All Asians in Chile are often referred to as chinitos (Chinese). Chilean society, generally speaking, considers the fans of Asian popular culture as ‘weird’ and as ‘outsiders’. The rejection of an unfamiliar culture is related to the process of cultural identity formation in Chile: an oligarchy society. Taking this into account, this article, based on in-depth interviews conducted in Santiago in September–November 2018, explores the most influential phenomena on the formation of cultural identity in Chile, determining social legacies of socio-economic status in Chile, and the influence of Japanese and Korean popular culture on young adults in Chile. Then, it investigates the nuances of the term chinitos in Chilean youth. Finally, it maps out the multiple societal contradictions in Chilean youth due to conflicting co-existence of indigenous culture and rapid neo-liberalization.

Education as Healing: How Urban Aboriginal Men Described Post-Secondary Schooling as Decolonising

2005 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 123-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Paul Restoule
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
School Experiences ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Secondary Schooling ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Aboriginal Students ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
Cultural Identity Development

AbstractThis paper relates findings from learning circles held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with urban Aboriginal men. The purpose of the circles was to determine how an Aboriginal cultural identity is formed in urban spaces. Education settings were mentioned by the research participants as a significant contribution to their cultural identity development. Participants described elementary and secondary school experiences as lacking in Aboriginal inclusion at best or as racist. In contrast to these earlier experiences, participants described their post-secondary education as enabling them to work on healing or decolonising themselves. Specific strategies for universities to contribute to individual decolonising journeys are mentioned. A university that contributes to decolonising and healing must provide space for Aboriginal students where they feel culturally safe. The students must have access to cultural knowledge and its keepers, such as elders. Their teachers must offer Indigenous course content and demonstrate respect and love for their students. Courses must be seen to be relevant to Indigenous people in their decolonising process and use teaching styles that include humour and engender a spirit of community in the classroom. In particular, Indigenous language courses are important to Aboriginal students.

scholarly journals Exploring experiences of challenge and resilience in South Asian immigrant older adults living with mild dementia in the Greater Toronto area

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nafsin Nizum
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
Future Research ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
Mild Dementia ◽  
Education Practice ◽  
Greater Toronto Area ◽  
Strength Based

The prevalence of dementia is apparent in various ethnicities and is growing within the Canadian South Asian population. However, the notion of resilience in dementia is dismissed as the dominant biomedical view of dementia prevails. There is a need to reframe that discourse to that of a strength-based, resilience approach to uphold the identity and strengths of a person living with dementia. In this narrative analysis of identity development, two participants living with mild stage dementia and one caregiver shared their experiences of challenge and resilience. Participants’ narratives have been re-storied to demonstrate their identity development and reveal their social world, while applying the Resilience Framework and using the intersectionality lens. Findings revealed that resilience for the two participants living with mild dementia meant 1) having purpose and meaningful worth, 2) having a strong sense of faith, 3) having supports that improve quality of life (family and day program), and 4) coming to their own terms with limited “control”. These findings and further emergent meaning derived from the participants’ narratives bear implications for education, practice, policy and future research.

The Dynamics of Acculturation Among Older Immigrants in Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 424-441
Author(s):  
Shuang Liu ◽  
Sharon Dane ◽  
Cindy Gallois ◽  
Catherine Haslam ◽  
Tran Le Nghi Tran
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Ethnic Culture ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Acculturation Strategies ◽  
Older Immigrants ◽  
The Social ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Over Time

This study explores different acculturation pathways that older immigrants follow, and the social/cultural identities they claim (or do not claim), as they live and age in Australia. Data were collected from 29 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with older immigrants (65+ years) from nine cultural backgrounds. We used participants’ self-defined cultural identity to explore how these cultural identities were enacted in different contexts. Mapping self-defined cultural identity with narratives about what participants do in relation to ethnic and host cultures, we found three dynamic acculturation pathways: (a) identifying with the ethnic culture while embracing aspects of Australian culture, (b) identifying with Australian culture while participating in the ethnic culture, and (c) identifying with both cultures while maintaining the way of life of the ethnic culture. These pathways show that acculturation strategies are not necessarily consistent with self-defined identity, within the same individual or over time. Rather, the participants’ narratives suggest that their life in the settlement country involves ongoing negotiation across people, culture, and relationships. The findings highlight the importance for acculturation research to be situated in the context in which immigrants find themselves, to capture the nuances of these dynamic acculturation experiences.

Identity-Mapping in the Sardinian Bronze Age

1999 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Blake
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
History Of ◽  
Distinct Boundary ◽  
Cultural Identity Formation ◽  
Material Record

The aim of this paper is to locate in the emergence and elaboration of Sardinia's Nuragic society, a narrative of cultural identity formation. The Nuragic period is typically defined in terms of economic, social, and demographic characteristics, and a Nuragic identity is implicitly taken to be a passive byproduct of these material circumstances. Such an account overlooks the role of identity in enabling and characterizing human action. The disjointed and contradictory Nuragic period transition preceded the formation of a coherent cultural identity. This identity, it will be argued, underwent a retrospective rearticulation to establish a distinct boundary between the Nuragic society and its antecedents. The material record illustrates clearly that the history of the Nuragic identity is implicated in social development on Sardinia in the second millennium BC.

Resisting and Reversing Language Shift: Heritage-Language Resilience among U.S. Native Biliterates

2001 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 676-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Tse
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Literacy Environment ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
The Social ◽  
Biliteracy Development ◽  
Literacy Environments ◽  
Cultural Identity Formation

In this article, Lucy Tse examines the experiences of one group of U.S. native bilinguals who have managed to develop high levels of literacy in both English and their home or "heritage" language (HL). This unique group has defied the typical pattern among U.S. minority language speakers of losing the home language while learning English. The results show that biliteracy development is aided by the coexistence of two sets of factors related to a) language vitality and b) literacy environment and experiences. Participants had high levels of perceived language vitality resulting from parental, institutional, and peer support, which helped in their formation of a social identity inclusive of their heritage language and culture. Having access to HL literacy environments and guidance from more literate adults and peers allowed the participants to observe the use of HL literacy in meaningful and socially important ways. Tse discusses these and other results in terms of social and cultural identity formation, literacy access and practices, and the social nature of literacy development. (pp. 677–709)

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document