Role In Identity Construction Research Articles

Fragmented in Space: The Oral History Narrative of an Arab Christian from Antioch, Turkey

AbstractThis study uses the case of Can Kilçiksiz, an Arab Christian refugee youth from Antioch, Turkey, to argue that globalization may result in fragmented families and subjectivities and can also accelerate processes initiated by modernity and the construction of national identities. Can Kilçiksiz and his siblings now live in Turkey, Germany, France and Finland. His life history suggests that males of Arab Christian origin from Antioch who had access to schooling are more likely to be involved in politics whereas females tend to be drawn to evangelical Christian organizations. The case also suggests that sibling ties might prove more durable in the course of transnational migration than conjugal ties. The case of Can Kilçiksiz shows that the time/space linked to childhood through memory can play an important role in identity construction of subjects circulating in transnational space.