Abstract
AbstractThe present study explores the case of a transnational Polish family in Norway in which one of the care givers as well as the teenage son underwent a name change after their initial experiences of migration. Drawing on the audio-recorded interactions in the interview situation, the article investigates the identity constructions of the focal participant in his narrative about the name change. To this end, first, the indexicalities of the social identity categoryPoleas constructed in Norwegian media and the participants’ accounts are outlined. Then, against this backdrop, the focal participant’s identity claims as occasioned in the narrative on the name change are discursively analyzed. The analysis shows that the identity claims the focal participant makes aim at dissociating himself from the powerless, stigmatized position of a migrant, in which he was cast upon his arrival in Norway. Furthermore, the study suggests that migrant identity constructions need to be considered against the participants’ lived experiences of migration, larger societal discourses and against participants’ constructions of belonging to imagined communities.
Highlights
Names are not neutral and, in different contexts, may index a variety of personal properties, such as gender, ethnicity, group belonging, religious affiliation and social status
The present study explores the case of a transnational Polish family in Norway in which one of the caregivers as well as the teenage son underwent a name
Drawing predominantly on the data from the interview with one of the caregivers, the article seeks to shed light on the processes of identity construction that were at work in the interview narrative on the name-change decision
Summary
Names are not neutral and, in different contexts, may index a variety of personal properties, such as gender, ethnicity, group belonging, religious affiliation and social status. Drawing predominantly on the data from the interview with one of the caregivers, the article seeks to shed light on the processes of identity construction that were at work in the interview narrative on the name-change decision. To this end, I first briefly introduce the key facts and characteristics of Polish migration to Norway, taking into consideration wider societal discourses on Polish migrants. I discuss the study findings in relation to empirical and theoretical insights from the research on migrant identities
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