Identity In Emigration Research Articles

Slikar Ivan Benković i hrvatska iseljenička zajednica u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama od 1912. do 1918. godine

In the period from the 1880s to the end of World War I, several Croatian artists resided in the USA. In the 1880s, these included the Dubrovnik painters Vlaho Bukovac and Niko Zec, and in the early twentieth century, painters Bela Csikos Sesia, Robert Auer, and Oton Iveković, and sculptors Rudolf Valdec and Dujam Penić, as well as the lesser-known sculptors Pavao Kelečić Kufrin and Ivan Bulimbašić. With the exception of Oton Iveković, who painted the parish church of St John the Baptist in Kansas City in 1910, they did not significantly contribute to the cultural space of the Croatian diaspora during this period. The first Croatian artist who actively engaged with the diaspora was the painter and graphic artist Ivan Benković (Rečica, 1886 - Chicago, 1918), a member of the first generation of students at the newly founded future Academy, at that time the Temporary Higher School for Arts and Crafts in Zagreb. After receiving his diploma in 1911, he briefly stayed in Vienna and Paris before emigrating to New York in the spring of 1912. He then lived in Chicago from 1915 until his death. Most of his artworks and documentation, preserved in private archives, remained largely unknown to researchers until recently, and his life and work during his stay in the USA were almost completely unknown. From 1913, Benković closely cooperated with the Croatian Union in New York, the first major political organization of Croats in the USA. Upon moving to Chicago in 1915, he collaborated with the Croatian National Community, the Croatian Community of Illinois, and the Croatian Falcon in the west. During World War I, he supported the Yugoslav movement through his artistic work, cooperating with the Yugoslav Union and the Yugoslav Committee in London. Benković’s work on the design of Croatian-American printed matter included a variety of magazine covers, memorials, and diplomas, as well as the logotype of the most widespread Croatian-American daily newspaper, Hrvatski svijet, which was renamed Jugoslovenski svijet in 1917. He translated the contemporary aspirations towards national expression, incorporating reworked folk motifs from his homeland into the American environment. Through his artistic contributions to shaping the visual identity of Croatian-American printed matter and artworks with national themes combined with contemporary artistic solutions, he actively participated in constructing the cultural identity of emigrants during the continuous process of their positioning within “other” cultures. The role of culture and art is crucial in building a collective identity, especially during times of significant political upheaval, such as the years before and during World War I. Benković found himself at the right time in the position of a visual artist in America, acting as a “fighter for shaping national identity.” Until 1918, alongside Meštrović, who was renowned in America at that time due to the publication of his art in the Croatian-American press, Benković was the only prominent Croatian artist who successfully connected with the political efforts of the Croatian diaspora. Nevertheless, his oeuvre remained largely anonymous, limited to the Croatian community, which nearly forgot him after the disappointment with the developments in the Yugoslav situation after 1918.

Prayer Motifs and National Consciousness in Changing Conditions of Reception: As Exemplified by the Works of Ivan Shmelev and Boris Zaitsev

This article presents the role of selected motifs of prayer depicted in the works of first-wave Russian emigrants in the creation of a certain type of national mythology. The starting point of the considerations is a reflection on the status of emigrant literature at the time of its creation, during the period of political changes in the Soviet bloc, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and today. From the beginning, émigré literature has served as a certain treasury of images and symbols, which are treated as necessary elements for maintaining the national identity of emigrants. The article presents selected motifs from the works of Ivan Shmelev’s The Year of the Lord and Pilgrimage, and Boris Zaitsev’s Saint Sergius of Radonezh, showing prayer as an element of ritual, as a collective request, and as an act of deep contact with God. The analysis of the selected examples shows that regardless of the literary form, narrative perspective, or the way the subject was presented, the writers showed prayer motifs in a patriotic context, while mythologizing pre-revolutionary Russia and bringing the idea of “Holy Rus” to life. In the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been an increased interest in emigrant literature, and the ideas contained therein have proven to be very important for the formation of the new national consciousness of Russians. Today, due to another political change in Russia and its political isolation, émigré literature is of renewed importance in Russian circles. The writers whose works are discussed in this study are regarded as the main Orthodox writers of the twentieth century, and the image of praying Russia is again the basis for building a new national identity. The study concludes with the observation that the value of emigrant literature should be studied in the context of the time of its creation.

Bulgakov’s sophiology and the neopatristic synthesis

AbstractIn 1922, many representatives of the Russian Intelligentsia, including many philosophers, were exiled from the young soviet state. Many left with the so-called Philosophy Steamer (Chamberlain in The philosophy steamer: Lenin and the exile of the intelligensia (2006) Atlantic Books). The exiled philosophers tried to go on with their previous professional lives in cities as Prague, Berlin and Paris. The St. Serge Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris, founded by, among others, Sergei Bulgakov (1871–1944), became the new center of Russian religious philosophy and theology in Europe. Soon, however, the community of immigrant Russian religious philosophers and theologians was divided by conflicting opinions, and fell apart in various brotherhoods and movements.An important conflict was the so-called Sophia controversy: the Brotherhood of St. Photius, which included Vladimir Lossky (1903–1958), as well as the famous spokesman of the Neopatristic Synthesis, Fr. Georges Florovsky (1893–1979), attacked the Brotherhood of St. Sophia, which included the above mentioned Bulgakov. His Sophiology, or study of Sophia, Divine Wisdom, was accused of heresy on the instigation of Florovsky and Lossky. From this Sophia controversy, the Neopatristic Synthesis emerged as the dominant school of Russian Orthodox Theology, whereas Sophiology fell practically into oblivion.This article will attempt to answer the question whether there is still room for a re-valuation of the sophiological stance in Orthodox theology through a survey of recent literature on the subject. The article will conclude the affirmative: namely, that the controversy is shown to be the result of a conflict between generations and the necessity to empower their Orthodox identity in emigration, rather than the result of intrinsic philosophical or theological differences.

Hungarian Diaspora in Sydney

Focusing on the Hungarian diaspora in Sydney, Australia, this paper finds that the key to preserving the Hungarian identity of emigrants and their descendants is maintaining and cultivating Hungarian traditions. Some institutions and organizations, such as Hungarian schools and the Hungarian Scout Association in Exteris, can help in this regard. To examine this topic, I conducted a pilot study asking the following questions: (1) What are the main elements of Hungarian identity in the diaspora? and (2) What is the main role that Hungarian scouts and other organizations play in preserving Hungarian identity? In the first part of the research, the most prominent people of the Hungarian diaspora in Sydney, Australia were interviewed. The interviews showed that Hungarian scouting plays a crucial role in the survival of Hungarian culture and community, which was reflected linguistically too. Subsequently, I conducted a questionnaire survey, whose results also confirmed that scouting is both an element of and a tool for Hungarian identity construction. Some key elements of identity, according to the respondents—language, culture, holidays, and community—are clearly included in scouting. The results also suggest that support for Hungarian emigrant organizations can be an effective way to maintain national identity. constantinovits.kinga.katalin@hallgato.ppke.hu

Transformation of Identity: Macro and Micro Levels of Research

This review of articles follows the Snyder methodology (2019) and is based on a study that was the collection, analysis and comparison of relevant publications on the topic of identity over the past fve years by quantitative and qualitative methods in the Web of Science and Scopus repositories.The scientometric analysis representing the research macrolevel made by means of the VOSviewer_1.6.16_exe CitNetExplorer_1.0.0_exe programs made it possible to distinguish in a vast array of publications the most relevant and cited articles, verified by the scientific community, focused the attention of scientists on semantic “nodes,” that is, values that guide social practices, and also allowed questions to be answered on background practices, organizing knowledge within the framework of discursive analysis M. Fuko. Micro-level, — analytical reading of texts, — made it possible to analyze the main trends in the development of identity studies and summarize the findings. The research undertaken shows that the concepts of political identity and youth identity are not limited to the traditional framework of ethnicity and race, but include a wide range of social and personal conditions, the study of which has great theoretical and practical significance. The study of the identity of emigrants, students, women, former military and many other social groups makes it possible to adopt more effective public policy measures and reduce the distance between managers and managers.Dedicated semantic clusters can be investigated in the new social conditions of Russia, and future finds of domestic researchers in this area will become a resource and contribution to the development of science and society. The absolute predominance of Anglo-Saxon studies in this topic, coupled with the obviously growing attention of researchers to unique and, sometimes, autonomous social groups, as well as identities in a state of transit, opens up great opportunities for Russian researchers to disseminate Russian empirical material and include examples from domestic social and political practices of transformation in the wider context of international sociology and political science.

“LATVIA WILL ALWAYS BE MY HOME”: LATVIAN EMIGRANTS IN SWEDEN AFTER 1991 IN THE LATVIAN NATIONAL ORAL HISTORY COLLECTION

Latvians are one of the most mobile European nations. Latvian migration to Sweden has a long history. After the II World War, more than 4,000 people moved from Latvia to Sweden, fleeing Soviet power. The second wave of immigration to Sweden began with the restoration of Latvian independence in 1991 and continues to this day. Both of these waves of migration are documented in the Latvian National Oral History collection. This article analyzes life-story interviews with expatriates in Sweden after the restoration of independence and explores how the migrants themselves describe their experiences in their new home country, their reflections on Latvians, Latvianness, and the preservation of national identity in emigration.

Проблема «автор-герой» у контексті структурування моделі авторської свідомості (на прикладі драми Юрія Косача «Скорбна симфонія»).

The article deals with the peculiarities of the national identity problem in artistic works by Yuriy Kosach of DP period. Namely, the attention is paid to the mutual hierarchy of historical memory and historical consciousness, their role of consolidation in Ukrainian national identity in emigration. In the basis of analysis there are mythological tendency «hero–antihero», complex of memory and author’s strategies for dealing with territorial and political. It is noted that the image of the hero who acts as a figurative picture and the project of the author's imaginary personality is the form of the author's identity in the creative activity and identity of the reader in the process of recept. Yuriy Kosach didn’t try to recreate the biographical reality of the life of the artist. Likely playwright (consciously or unconsciously) designed to create their own "I", its own identity crisis, their internal and external frustratory. The author tried to look sideways to the problems faced with in exile, in order not to get lost and not lose their own "I" somewhere in the next camp or country.

Fostering of National Identity in Emigration Through Lithuanian Folk Dance

he article analyses the Lithuanian folk dance as a means of national identity fostering in Lithuanian diaspora in North America. National identity maintenance especially in emigration is topical problem which started with the first wave of emigrants into US after the First World War. The evolution of Lithuanian folk dance in North America can be divided into two parts. The first period involves Lithuanian dance origins in North America, where in 1925 the first Lithuanian dances were captured in Lithuanian operas and choral performances. The first and second waves of emigrants didn't have chance to experience folk dance revival period in Lithuania, so they tried to dance dances which they knew from their parents and grandparents. Therefore dance repertoire was not abundant. During this period national dance activities were enlivened and enriched only by M. Baronaitės arrival from Lithuania seeking to maintain national identity and to expand dance repertoire.The second Lithuanian folk dance development period in North America covers the period from 1944, when the third wave of emigrants, who has experienced national revival in Lithuania, joined the Saturday schools and established Lithuanian dance ensembles which expanded Lithuanian folk dance repertoire in North America. Most of the national dance up holders were teachers, who acquired dance knowledge in primary school physical education teacher courses or by teaching children dance at Lithuanian schools.Lithuanian Folk Dance Institute (LFDI) is an important cultural institution, which aims to explore and spread Lithuanian folk dances, to promote the related customs, games, folklore, folkmusic and costumes hereby encouraging Lithuanian national identity. The focus of LFDI is appointed to organization of folk dance festivals, selection of artistic director and program approval. One of the major challenges of LFDI is to hold annual dance teacher seminars, which seek to improve folk dance teachers’ competences.

Russians from China: Migrations and Identity

In the first half of the 20th century, sizeable Russian communities lived in a number of Chinese cities, including Harbin, Shanghai and Tientsin. The largest and most diverse of these was the community that grew up around Harbin in north China. By the mid 1920s, Harbin was home to one of the largest Russian diaspora communities in the world, with over 120,000 Russians and other nationalities from the former Tsarist Empire. Moreover, many Russians in Shanghai and Tientsin had links to Harbin, as their first place of domicile in China. By the late 1950s, political transformations in China had driven almost all these people elsewhere. But for many of them, their roots in China became a key aspect of their identity in emigration in their new diasporas. This paper explores the background to this unique community and the geo-political forces underpinning the various waves of migration of Russians into and out of Harbin. It analyses the complex issues of identity and citizenship Russians faced while living in Harbin, their fates determined at various points in time by the dominance of three powers – Russia, China and Japan. Drawing on the experience of my own family, whose life in Harbin and Manchuria spanned four generations over fifty years, it touches on the rich ethnic and cultural mix that lay beneath the surface of “Russian” Harbin, with particular reference to the Jewish community that once thrived there. Finally, it examines how the ‘Harbintsy’ perceive their identity in emigration and the recent changes in attitude towards them of the Chinese authorities.

Peculiarities of Preschool Age Children’s Formation of National Identity in Emigration

The article discusses the importance of fostering national identity in preschoolers living abroad and difficulties related to it, also, there is disclosed national identity’s expression of Lithuanian children living in foreign countries. Moreover, the article seeks to substantiate the problem of national identity formation in emigration with reference to research carried out abroad.
 The aim of this research is to expose the peculiarities of preschool children’s formation of national identity in emigration. The objectives of the research are the following: to ascertain ethnic consciousness of emigrants’ preschool age children; to explore aspects of identification with Lithuanians nation; to learn about the attitude of the parents growing up preschool age children towards Lithuanian identity’s nurturance in emigration.
 In 2010 there was carried out research which proved that children and their parents quite positively think about possibilities of ethnic identity formation in emigration. The research carried out in 2012 highlighted pretty skeptic attitude of emigrant parents towards Lithuania and Lithuanian identity considering the formation of their children’s ethnic identity.

Failures of Domesticity in Contemporary Russian-American Literature: Vapnyar, Krasikov, Ulinich, and Reyn

Hybrid literature has flourished in the Russian diaspora in the last decade and much of it is semi-autobiographical, concerned with the reconfiguration of identity in emigration. It dwells productively on the translation of the self and (more broadly) on the relationship between center and margin in the post-Soviet, transnational world. Gender roles are subject to contestation, as writers interrogate and reconsider expectations inherited from traditional Russian culture. This article situates Russian hybrid literature vis-à-vis Western feminism, taking into account Russian women’s particular experience of feminism. Four female writers of contemporary Russian-American literature – Lara Vapnyar, Sana Krasikov, Anya Ulinich, and Irina Reyn – inscribe failures of domesticity into their prose. Their female characters who cannot or do not cook or clean problematize woman’s role as nurturer. Home (geographic or imaginary) carries a semantic load of limitation and restriction, so failure as a homemaker may be paradoxically liberating. For female characters working in the West to support their families in Russia, domesticity is sometimes even more darkly cast as servitude. Rejection of traditional Russian definitions of women’s gender roles may signal successful renogotiation of identity in the diaspora. Although these writers may express nostalgia for the Russian culture of their early childhood, their critique of the tyranny of home is a powerful narrative gesture. Failures of domesticity represent successful steps in the redefinition of the self and they support these writers’ claim to transnational status.

Russians from China: Migrations and Identity

In the first half of the 20th century, sizeable Russian communities lived in a number of Chinese cities, including Harbin, Shanghai and Tientsin. The largest and most diverse of these was the community that grew up around Harbin in north China. By the mid 1920s, Harbin was home to one of the largest Russian diaspora communities in the world, with over 120,000 Russians and other nationalities from the former Tsarist Empire. Moreover, many Russians in Shanghai and Tientsin had links to Harbin, as their first place of domicile in China. By the late 1950s, political transformations in China had driven almost all these people elsewhere. But for many of them, their roots in China became a key aspect of their identity in emigration in their new diasporas. This paper explores the background to this unique community and the geo-political forces underpinning the various waves of migration of Russians into and out of Harbin. It analyses the complex issues of identity and citizenship Russians faced while living in Harbin, their fates determined at various points in time by the dominance of three powers – Russia, China and Japan. Drawing on the experience of my own family, whose life in Harbin and Manchuria spanned four generations over fifty years, it touches on the rich ethnic and cultural mix that lay beneath the surface of “Russian” Harbin, with particular reference to the Jewish community that once thrived there. Finally, it examines how the ‘Harbintsy’ perceive their identity in emigration and the recent changes in attitude towards them of the Chinese authorities.