Ambivalent Identity Research Articles

Contentious polities and political polarization in Thailand: Post-Thaksin reflections

This article investigates the performance of identity and the concept of a ‘good’ leader reflected in the discourse of the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a controversial yet significant politician in Thai contemporary politics. The analysis focuses on how Thaksin constructed his political self, and how it redefined the Thai political field and the relevant practices. The article traces the discursive construction of his political identity in the radio program PM Thaksin talks to the people aired in 2001–2005. The findings indicate that Thaksin’s discourse constructed an ambivalent political identity through heterogeneity and dynamic use of ‘we’. Various mechanism of legitimization secured his popularity and created a lasting bond with the people. The discussion argues that while the discourse projecting a leadership style that is both confident and defiant strengthened the bond between Thaksin and his supporters, it increasingly pushed the ‘others’ away, leading to a growing ideological gap and later an adversarial sense among Thais, a fracture that still dominates the contemporary Thai political and social landscape.

Ambivalence of Identity and Dislocation Seen in �Lotus Eater� by W. Somerset Maugham and �The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses� by Bessie Head

This paper focuses on identifying the ambivalence and displacement seen in two short stories. The first is Lotus Eater by W. Somerset Maugham and the second is The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses by Bessie Head. Both of the stories tells us about the cultural contact which occur in the colonial era where there are differences of culture and power operate. This paper uses Bhabhas theory of ambivalence and dislocation in order to scrutinize the ambivalence and dislocation in the two short stories. This research paper finds out that in those stories, the ambivalent identity and sense of dislocation emerge and affect to both sides interacting in the cultural contact. Both the ambivalent identity and the sense of dislocation operate together to tell the complex relation of the entities inside the stories.Keywords: cultural contact, ambivalent identity, displacement

FROM PROGRAM PARTICIPANT TO AGING ADVOCATE: THEORIZING OLDER ADULTS' ROLES IN AGE-FRIENDLY COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

Major professional organizations in health and aging have identified older adults’ involvement as a defining feature of aging-friendly community initiatives (AFCIs), yet there is very little research on this aspect of the initiatives. Our study utilizes five waves of data from in-depth interviews with leaders of nine AFCIs across northern New Jersey. The study was conducted as part of a multi-year, community-partnered project on the development of these philanthropically supported initiatives. Multi-phase coding yielded four types of roles for older adults: (a) program participants, (b) informants and consultants, (c) volunteers assisting with programs, events, and administrative tasks, and (d) aging-friendly champions and advocates. Across role types, AFCI leaders reflected on the challenges of engaging particular subgroups of older adults, as well as how ambivalent age identities impeded involvement. We discuss implications for advancing research and evaluation on community-level interventions that seek to simultaneously serve and empower people as they age.

Modest reflections on the ambiguous future of the study of religion(s)

ABSTRACTReflection on the future study of religion(s) poses three questions: What is the definition of religion? What should ‘study’ mean in the academic discourse about religion? And how about its future as an independent discipline within the humanities? The first question brings about a critique of the conceptual definition of religion and the true purpose of the study of religion(s) in wholistic human formation. The second suggests a departure from the monotone of a European and North American model of ‘study.’ And the third encourages self-conscious and tolerance of the ambiguous and ambivalent identity of the study and moving towards more active engagements in the era of the 4IR.

One flew over the duck pond: Autoethnography, academic identity, and language

Autoethnography is about studying a community through the author’s personal experience. I offer my autoethnography of moving from a Finnish-speaking business school to a Swedish-speaking one in Helsinki, Finland. This is my story as a Finnish speaker who works in English, develops a sense of lack and guilt for not contributing in Swedish, and enacts an identity of an outsider in his community. My ambivalent identity work as a privileged yet increasingly anxious white male professor elucidates connections between identity, language, and power, and it may enable me to see glimpses of what those who are truly marginalized and excluded experience. I argue that academic identity is based on language, and once that foundation is shaken, it can trigger self-reflection that helps to show how language is inevitably tied in with complex power relations in organizations. I offer my story as an invitation to discuss how we learn to deal with the complexity of identity work and language. My story lays bare how autoethnographies by the privileged, too, can be useful if they show the vulnerability we all experience in contemporary universities.

An Interpretation on the Dynamics of Cultural Conflicts in Caryl Phillips’ novel The Final Passage

Caryl Phillips is a prodigious writer, whose writings reflect the cultural dynamics and its ramifications in a colonized context. He attempts to unravel the diasporic experiences of the black people in Africa, Caribbean islands and England. The author through his novel The Final Passage articulates the life experiences of a young girl, who was tossed up in a world of conflict of cultural infliction. The article attempts to narrate and offer exegesis on the bane that the young girl Leila encounters in Caribbean and England context. It exposes the myopic nature of the dominant white community and her own black family background. It offers a soulful rendition to the predicaments she faces due to ambivalent identity, racial disparity.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ПРОФЕСІЙНОГО САМОВИЗНАЧЕННЯ ОСОБИСТОСТІ У РАННІЙ ЮНОСТІ (ГЕНДЕРНИЙ АСПЕКТ)


 
 
 The article describes gender peculiarities of making early career choices. The results of the empirical study of the peculiarities of the relationship between the gender identity and professional focus are presented. It is revealed that the choice of profession relates to gender identity. Differences were found between the image of the self-actualized woman and the image of the self- actualized circles. These differences relate to the intellectual sphere, social activity, ideas about ways. Thus, respondents with masculine identity tend to choose activities related to sign system and technology. Respondents with feminine and ambivalent identities most often choose activities related to people and nature.
 
 

Born of Two Koreas, of Human Blood: Monstrosity and the Discourse of Humanity and Pacifism in the Film Bulgasari

As in the Western world, Korea has a variety of mythical monsters. Among them is Bulgasari, an iron-eating monster, which will be the main topic of this paper. The monster’s name “Bulgasari” has a paradoxical meaning in Korean, which is “cannot be killed but can be killed by fire.” The meaning of the name represents the wide gamut of ambivalent identity ranging from physical to metaphorical aspects of the monster. It also provides a uniquely Korean reception and interpretation of being monstrous as distinctive from the archetypal imagery and general understanding of monstrosity as “enduring evil,” as seen in most myths and tradition. For instance, Bulgasari’s destructive power is frequently portrayed in the myth as a heroic trait to protect social justice by condemning and punishing the evils of society. Such an ambivalent identity as both monster and hero shows that Bulgasari’s embodiment of monstrosity is recognized through a different or rather complex mechanism in Korean-specific context, not uniformly recognized as enduring evil. This study traces historical descriptions of the monster Bulgasari in legend, literature, and film adaptation. Especially focusing on the North Korean film Bulgasari (1985), this study explores the way in which the ambivalent identity of the monster develops into discourses of humanity and pacifism, in both Korean-specific and transnational contexts, while mirroring the Korean and global sense of reality situated in this era of South-North division and nuclear holocaust.

Generation 1.5 of Russian Israelis: integrated but distinct

ABSTRACTOver the last 5 years, we conducted several ethnographic studies on the social, cultural, and political locations of the young Israeli adults who belong to Generation 1.5 of the ex-Soviet immigrant wave of the 1990s (those who moved to Israel as older children or adolescents). These studies showed that despite successful instrumental integration in the local middle classes in terms of educational and occupational mobility, these 1.5ers keep distinct and ambivalent social and cultural identities that form a third, hybrid path between the Russian and Israeli scripts. As opposed to their “silent” parents, young immigrants organize to protest against what some of them see as their second-class citizenship in the Jewish state. To expand this collective portrait beyond small groups and key activists, we conducted a national online survey among Russian Israeli 1.5ers that was completed by 650 respondents. In the article we report the selected survey findings, focusing on perceived economic mobility and discrimination, intergenerational relations, Jewish identity, political leanings, civic participation, language patterns, cultural interests, and transnational ties to their homelands.

Amendments and frames: The Women Making History movement and Malmö migration history

This article explores existing and emerging frames of writing history involving a push for new modes of telling and writing history/histories. This, from the point of view of a recent movement, in short namedWomen Making History, launched in Malmö, Sweden in 2013 aiming to cover a 100-year period, from when immigration began until the present day. The movement – engaged in activism and archival work and research around the lives and work of women immigrants in the city – took off in 2013 with support from authors engaged in aLiving Archives1research project, and formally ended, though some activity continues, with a book publication in 2016. In collaboration with the movementFeminist DialogueMalmö University researchers (mainly the two authors and students) have been documenting activities and workshops over three years, revealing the voicing of ambivalent identities that wish to maintain a plurality and openness of identifications and directions. These voices do not want to be framed as ‘outsiders’, ‘homogenized others’ or ‘victimized strangers’, and struggle with a feeling of beingamendedto a more homogenous national history – an ambiguous predicament which is investigated in this article through diverse ways of trying to understand how belonging is developed in the notions ofmultidirectionality,multi-logues,amendmentsandre/framing.

Exploring Bicultural Ambivalence in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake: Representational Diasporic Identities in Indian Anglophone Fiction

This paper explores the cultural ambivalence and bicultural identity issues in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake. This Indian Anglophone novel carries different diasporic sensibilities. Issues of marriage and culture are very prominent with the importance of family relationships in the context of immigrant feelings and loss of identity. Unconditional love and acceptance of family relations emerge victorious at the end of the narrative. The writer shares the second generation migrant experience since they were born to parents who immigrated and settled to United States. While migrants from some of the Asian states, mainly those characterized by most recent immigrant waves, have really worse socio-economic situation than average immigrants; Indians people are rather prosperous minorities. Theories presented by Bhabha, Clifford and Appadurai about culture and diaspora support this research. Lahiri do not portray immigrants’ lives as a struggle to survive but rather concentrate on their affiliation to the country into which they arrived and also on their relationship with their American-born children. This research is helpful to know about the concerns associated with the liminal space and issues related to identity loss of first and second generations and living with a bicultural identity.

Constructions of Europe in the run-up to the EU referendum in the UK

ABSTRACTThe paper reports findings from a focus group study on representations of Europe, conducted in England in the run-up to the UK EU referendum. Four themes were identified in the analysis: ‘cultured Europe’; ‘little Europe/global Britain’; ‘Europe as a cultural threat’; and ‘Eastern vs. Western Europe’. Analysis of these themes showed that Europe was an ambivalent identity category that could encapsulate contrary ideas such as cosmopolitanism/isolationism and cultural enrichment/undermining. Europe’s relation to Britain was also ambivalent in the data. Britain could be positioned as superior to Europe, sometimes being seen as closer to the ‘European essence’ in the context of the EU’s eastward expansion, which was seen as diluting European culture. But, Britain could also be seen as backward compared to the idea of cosmopolitan continental Europe. These different lines of argument and their ideological underpinnings are explored in the discussion of the findings.

Choosing One or Being Both: The Identity Dilemmas of Russian-Jewish Mixed Ethnics Living in Russia and in Israel

ABSTRACTA large share of Russian/Soviet Jews, especially among younger cohorts, are descendants of intermarriage. In this essay, I reflect on the implications of the built-in ambivalence of these mixed ethnics, comparing their identity qualms and social strategies in their native Russia and after migration to Israel. My analysis draws upon participant observation and interviews conducted in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and across Israel over the last 20 years. My theoretical anchors are recent discussions on the evolving nature of Jewish identity, formed at the intersection of religion, ethnicity, and culture, in the context of ongoing intermarriage and assimilation. The comparison between the (ex-)Soviet and Israeli context underscores the role of local social constructions of ethno-religious belonging, nationalism, and citizenship as synergistic forces in shaping social locations of mixed ethnics. It also sheds light on the tactics of adjustment and “passing” among individuals with ambivalent ethnic identities who experience rapid social transformation or migration.

“You Could Argue It Either Way”: Ambivalent White Teacher Racial Identity and Teaching about Racism in Literature Study

This study presents a portrait of a White high school English teacher in an effort to understand the relationship between her White racial identity and her teaching about racism within a unit on A Raisin in the Sun in a predominantly White teaching context. The author argues that the teacher’s ambivalent White racial identity contributed to lack of clarity and conviction in terms of purpose, which presented a pedagogical dilemma that ultimately undermined her practice. Acknowledging ambivalent identity and compensating for ambivalence in practice could provide pedagogical support for English teachers when they strive to teach about racism in secondary English classrooms.

Ambivalent identities and liminal spaces: reconfiguration of national and diasporic identity in Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist

ABSTRACTThis paper will conduct a reconfiguration of nation as a more inclusive space which includes ambivalent migrants, who are also global citizens. Thus, nation comprises subjects who are more or less than just the ideal national citizens. It will explain the liminal spaces that these migrants occupy in between the nation and the global world. The objective of this study is to define nation beyond the geographical boundaries and in terms of the transnational and diasporic identities. The narration of nation is integrated with the ambivalent modernity, cultural transformation, migration patterns, post-9/11 resurgence of American nationalism and its impact on Pakistani diaspora living in America. In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Hamid conceives the shift in modern life, but expands his range and focus to the shifting national identities vis-à-vis the global citizenships. When framed through nation, and diaspora, these shifting identities reflect the shifting postcolonial scene.

Ambivalent occupational identities under modern workplace demands: the case of Swiss retail apprentices

This article investigates how Swiss retail apprentices construct their occupational identities under modern workplace affordances. The Swiss retail sector has become more competitive in recent decades; as a consequence, retail businesses look for skilled and responsible employees who are flexible in regard to work tasks and schedules. The article focuses on apprentices’ experiences and sense-making, and specifically examines how retail work conditions not only generate pressure and insecurity, but also offer possibilities for personal identification. Results are based on a qualitative study with retail apprentices involving interviews, focus groups, and observations in vocational education and training schools. Retail apprentices strongly identify with the skilled nature of retail work and even the demand for continuous skill development to ensure that they remain employable. However, they are more critical of the flexible way in which their work is organised and develop divided sense-makings around the demands for responsible autonomy. In short, retail work is perceived in ambivalent ways, oscillating between valorising some of the realities of retail work and suffering from others. The discussion points to the kinds of working and learning conditions within companies that hinder apprentices’ ability to cope with the demands of the modern retail workplace.

Post-handover identity: contested cultural bonding between China and Hong Kong

This study examines the formation of Hong Kong identity and its cultural articulation in Chinese identity in the post-handover years. Surveys of Hong Kong identity conducted between 1996 and 2016 demonstrate a set of interlinked yet contradictory findings: (i) the coexistence of both cultural pride in and resistance to cultural icons that represent the Chinese state; (ii) weakening correlations between China and Hong Kong regarding cultural affiliation; and (iii) the growing significance of cultural resistance to China by people who love Hong Kong. The survey results indicate the prevalence of an ambivalent identity in post-handover Hong Kong with regard to the coexistence of opposing attitudes toward Chinese identity. These results provide evidence of the complex cultural bonding between China and Hong Kong in the development of the China–Hong Kong relationship since the handover in 1997.

Reproductions of Chinese Transnationalism: Ambivalent Identities in Study Abroad

Intersections between transnationalism, the internationalization of higher education, and applied linguistics continue to draw attention, as the proliferation of academic mobility is increasingly influencing students, instructors, and universities globally. As one of the world’s major receiving countries of international postsecondary students, Canada, and its universities, has been similarly impacted. This article presents two informative and contrastive perspectives based on the experiences of two Chinese doctoral students at a large Canadian university. I focus particularly on the students’ national and transnational ideologies, identities, and future outlooks, and how these formative experiences and positionalities shaped their perspectives, goals, and motivations during their study abroad. This research demonstrates how the (transnational) identities of these two students were discursively and iteratively formed based on complex intersections of national and transnational discourses regarding the representations of overseas returnees and the students’ conceptions and co-constructions of the legitimate academic transnational and home. These discursive constructions and enactments in turn had an influential effect on their challenges, desires, and abilities to integrate into local academic discourses and communities.

The Creation of Nikkei Australia: Rediscovering the Japanese Diaspora in Australia

ABSTRACTJapanese people first settled in Australia in the late nineteenth century, yet the history of Japanese Australians remains mostly unknown. In fact, many contemporary people of Japanese heritage often feel alienated from their own ethnic history, even actively rejecting any connection to the Japanese diaspora. This article examines the reasons behind this phenomenon and how the group Nikkei Australia grew out of a need to explore these issues of ambivalent identity. Nikkei Australia is group of researchers and individuals with an interest in rediscovering and retelling Japanese Australian diasporic stories. Drawing on personal narratives and reflections, this article charts the inception of Nikkei Australia and the group's academic, artistic and cultural activities to date, as well as the issues and ideas that inform and frame the group's tasks ahead.

Watching Marginal Bodies: Representation of the Transgender Identity on Turkish Media

The world in which we live is seen, on the one hand as a global village in some sense and, on the other, as a divided geography. In other words, it is localized and ghettoized simultaneously. The everyday life that transforms rapidly and in an amorphous notion bears testimony to the rise of new identities and belongings as well as new opposition and disengagement. This dilemma generates new and different notion of tension and conflict. Body and gender are considerably significant paradigms in terms of showing and representing this sense of physical, mental and ideological separation; so much so that they change continuously in the shade of freedom and security deadlock. As for media, they do not merely capture but formalized the social events and collective facts. They manipulate the viewer perception and attitudes. From institutional and traditional to individual, digitalized and social media, they redefine the meaning of distant and ambivalent identities and design some clichés about them. That is why this paper is an attempt to describe the representation of marginal identities in Turkish media mainly through television channels, newspapers, internet and films that may stimulate the controversial relationship between normals and deviant and between insider and outsider. For this purpose, in this study, it is focused on the question of how Turkish media display and represent the transvestites.