Identity Negotiation

Drawing from Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, and Cain’s (1998) identity theory, this study sought to understand how six self-identified lesbian and gay Latina/o college students negotiated their sexual and ethnic identities.  Participants identified two equally flawed dimensions, the hometown and college figured worlds, from which they sought an alternative destigmatizing space for identity negotiation.  Through the senses of freedom, security, and belonging, the participants became self-empowered to create a third figured world I term an "identity buffer"—a space governed by their individual expectations and social norms—where their identities could coexist.

In this thesis, I explore the negotiating strategies, knowledges and literacies that come into play when children interact with picturebooks as readers and bookmakers; and how children interact with discourses in representation that are pervasive throughout picturebooks.
For decades, children’s books have suffered from poor cultural representation, with critics noting the lack of diversity in characters, inauthentic portrayals and poor diversity among writers. Tied to young and inexperienced readers by age banding and perceptions of little complexity, picturebooks have for years been linked to the teaching of reading. In England, this is largely dominated by the use of synthetic phonics as the preferred teaching method. Coupled with what critics have called a ‘pedagogy of performativity’ which places intense pressures upon teachers, schools and children for these to meet standard expectations in national testing, the teaching of reading in schools tends to be approached through methods that focus on the development of skills.
This study uses an arts-informed methodology to explore the relationships between children and picturebooks, and how they are connected to literacy learning and discourses in representation present in picturebooks. At its heart are six children with whom I conducted observations, interviews and bookmaking workshops during the 2014-2015 school year. The data was analysed using verbal and visual narratives, drawing from notions of portraiture and bricolage to create a responsive approach, and based upon James Britton’s theory of the ‘third space’ of play, where children negotiate the demands of the outside world with their own inner wishes, and notions of narrative identity.
The findings indicate that discourses surrounding picturebooks’ complexities and representational aspects within them affect how children relate to these books, as well as how they negotiate their sense of place, belonging and self-understanding. The implications of this research have repercussions for academic, educational and publishing professionals.

Resumo: O presente artigo aborda alguns aspectos do processo de negociação da identidade racial dos imigrantes brasileiros nos Estados Unidos, tendo em vista o contexto sociocultural daquele país em relação à realidade brasileira. Os estudos sobre identidade têm ganhado atenção considerável de pesquisadores de diversas áreas do conhecimento, motivados pela crescente relevância do tema nas últimas décadas. O cruzamento de fronteiras representa o encontro com novas realidades e culturas, as quais exigem que os indivíduos embarquem num constante processo de negociação de suas identidades. Neste processo de redefinições identitárias deve-se levar em conta o caráter relacional característico do conceito de identidade. Assim, este trabalho se baseia numa análise bibliográfica sobre o tema para apresentar uma síntese das estratégias de negociação da identidade racial dos brasileiros no contexto americano, discutindo-as à luz dos aspectos socioculturais envolvidos no processo.

The way individuals define themselves is assumed to be tightly linked to social and cultural values of the environment they are raised in. Yet, identity is not static and forming a cultural identity requires adopting beliefs and practice of one or more cultural communities. Hence, this paper is an attempt to bring the issue of identity construction in question as a result of direct contact with people from different cultures and what it may engender as a change in social, cultural behaviour and positions. The present study investigates the impact of study abroad experience on Sojourners' cultural identity. It tries to highlight the nature of the crossing borders experience, and how it strongly contributes to the creation of a new cultural identity. This research work relies on a case study that consists of 25 Algerian students who are actually enrolled in a long-term programme at different universities in the United Kingdom. The data were gathered through the use of both questionnaire and semi-structured interview administered to these Sojourners. Then, data were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings first display the competencies developed by students while abroad. Second, the study explores how cultural identity is being reconstructed and negotiated during the intercultural communication. Third, the extracts of the study reveal that the Sojourners are aware of the cross-cultural adaptation process and they try to cope with the challenges they face as well as avoiding communication breakdowns and misunderstandings. As a result, we contribute to the literature concerning constructing and negotiating identities in different socio-cultural contexts.

Beberapa pekerja media massa lokal bekerja pada dua media massa yang berbeda, yang mana dalam perjalanannya pekerja media massa lokal ini akan memilih salah satu dari pekerjaannya untuk dijadikan identitas yang lebih ingin ditampilkan. Penelitian ini meneliti kasus yang terjadi pada Dave Nirvana yang sekaligus menjadi peneliti dalam penelitian ini untuk mengungkap bagaimana proses pembentukan identitas terjadi pada seorang pekerja media massa lokal yang bekerja pada dua media yang berbeda dengan salah satu identitas yang lebih menonjol.
Penelitian ini menggunakan metode autoetnografi, sebuah metode yang mana peneliti mengungkapkan pengalamannya berada di sebuah lingkungan budaya tertentu dan dilengkapi dengan opini dari para significant others yang berada di sekitar peneliti selama konteks budaya tersebut berlangsung.
Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah peneliti membentuk identitas dengan memberikan eksposur pada hasil kontribusi profesional yang berkaitan dengan identitas yang ingin dibentuknya. Walaupun demikian, para significant others lebih melihat identitas peneliti berdasarkan hasil karya yang dapat dirasakannya secara langsung daripada berdasarkan apa yang ditonjolkan oleh peneliti.

This paper conceptualizes Hopson's notion of crash moments by exploring an intercultural interaction (between an individual who identifies as heterosexual and another who identifies as homosexual) within a graduate classroom by drawing on cultural schema theory and critical incident analysis. Ultimately , this paper deconstructs a communication breakdown through a self-reflexive process in which the researcher was ''outed'' (someone else disclosed the sexual orientation of a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered individual in a public setting) by a classmate—which the researcher deems as a problematic occurrence, making the incident critical and fitting for analysis within an intercultural communication context. This paper also considers the complexities of sexual identity negotiation as an African American female lesbian at a Historically Black College/ University.

During the last two decades, some sections of the academic world have shown doubts concerning the validity of the modernisation paradigm in nationalism studies in general, as well as of the applicability of the " classic modernist " theories of nationalism for the analysis of nationhood outside of Western Europe. Among the suggested new approaches, which seem to be particularly fruitful in the case of Mexican nationalism, is the investigation of nationhood through its representations in visual language. Whereas both verbal and written forms of language were a key aspect in the shaping of the identity of Western and Central European nations, visual language articulated in the public space (i.e. through murals), with its characteristic symbols and semiotic references, played a crucial role during the process of the homogenization of Mexican masses, especially at the beginning of the 20th century. This period was essential for the formation of the " vocabulary " and the content of Mexican national identity. Although the muralist movement was partially repressed for several decades (the 1950s–1980s), since the 1990s, public art has once again gained strength and has again become an important agent in the negotiation and the articulation of national identity all throughout Mexico. This paper analyses the role of visual communication in the process of the negotiation and of the shaping of specific versions of national identity, and that in the historical perspective and at present. I build on the long-term I carried out in Mexico between 2013 - 2014, on the study of nationalism theories and of national identity, and on the methodology of visual and interpretative anthropology.

Medical Education 2010: 44: 814–825Objectives  This study describes how medical students perceive professionalism and the context in which it is relevant to them. An understanding of how Phase 1 students perceive professionalism will help us to teach this subject more effectively. Phase 1 medical students are those in the first 2 years of a 5-year medical degree.Methods  Seventy-two undergraduate students from two UK medical schools participated in 13 semi-structured focus groups. Focus groups, carried out until thematic saturation occurred, were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed and coded using NVivo 8, using a grounded theory approach with constant comparison.Results  From the analysis, seven themes regarding professionalism emerged: the context of professionalism; role-modelling; scrutiny of behaviour; professional identity; ‘switching on’ professionalism; leniency (for students with regard to professional standards), and sacrifice (of freedom as an individual). Students regarded professionalism as being relevant in three contexts: the clinical, the university and the virtual. Students called for leniency during their undergraduate course, opposing the guidance from Good Medical Practice. Unique findings were the impact of clothing and the online social networking site Facebook on professional behaviour and identity. Changing clothing was described as a mechanism by which students ‘switch on’ their professional identity. Students perceived society to be struggling with the distinction between doctors as individuals and professionals. This extended to the students’ online identities on Facebook. Institutions’ expectations of high standards of professionalism were associated with a feeling of sacrifice by students caused by the perception of constantly ‘being watched’; this perception was coupled with resentment of this intrusion. Students described the significant impact that role-modelling had on their professional attitudes.Conclusions  This research offers valuable insight into how Phase 1 medical students construct their personal and professional identities in both the offline and online environments. Acknowledging these learning mechanisms will enhance the development of a genuinely student-focused professionalism curriculum.

This review explores how critical autoethnography as a qualitative research tool can be used to capture some of the social and material realities embedded in the processes of embodiment and performance and its implication for queer of color critique. Using African immigrant queer identity performances as an example, I elaborate how autoethnography can be used to highlight multiple, complex and sometimes contradictory identity negotiation strategies used by African queer migrants to navigate simultaneous systems of privilege and oppression. I show that identities of African queer migrants are ongoing processes riddled with constant negotiation and re-negotiation with systems with power which autoethnography can be used to illuminate.

In the mid-1990s, the South Korean government and culture industries embarked on a campaign to promote Korean pop culture, tangible goods, and tourism along with the country’s national identity abroad as a unified brand. Today, Hallyu, meaning the Korean Wave, is a phenomenon with an estimated 80 million fans spread out across the globe including a growing and fervent fan community in the United States. The purpose of this complete member ethnography (CME) informed by the hermeneutic phenomenology of communication (HPC) is to explore the identities of non-Korean members of Korean Meetup Groups formed through the social networking site, Meetup.com. The findings suggest that Korean culture appeals to this group of Koreanophiles, fans of Korean culture, because it combines Eastern and Western elements, because Korean history is sometimes relatable, and because particular morals and values resonate. For this group, consuming and participating in Korean culture fulfills needs unmet by U.S. culture, and Korean culture both reflects and (re)constructs the ways in which they view and present themselves.

El hombre por su naturaleza gregaria, debe estar en permanente contacto con sus semejantes, dando y recibiendo, esto es negociando, a todo lo largo de su vida.

Basándose en las habilidades adquiridas por su experiencia el hombre negocia día con día, generalmente sin utilizar métodos o técnicas más elaboradas, que apenas alcanzan el nivel primitivo de “ganar o perder” en la negociación.

The aim of the talk is twofold : first to show what kind of words adolescents borrow from non-European languages, what concepts they cover, and in which communicative settings they appear. Then we want to take account of the identity dimension of borrowings, assuming that indexicalization of some linguistic variables is a process used mostly conscientiously in order to negotiate the speaker’s identity at an individual but also a collective scale.

A social media user mindfully created screen names, employing them as noms de guerre (“names of war”) in figurative social identity conflict among authentic and socially acceptable possible selves. Across lifelong social exclusion, she leveraged five screen names to position her self-concepts across identity battlefields (intelligence, sexuality, emotion, social worth, and morality) to resolve dissonance among her natural personality, behavior, and belief attributes and the rejection of those attributes by offline and virtual others.