Hyphenated Journeys: Identity Negotiations of Multiracial Vietnamese Americans Through the Lens of Hybridity
Location
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall
Description
PURPOSE: This study explores how Vietnamese Americans with mixed heritage navigate their identity. Through interviews and autoethnography, it examines how multiracial/multiethnic Vietnamese Americans maintain their Vietnamese identity while constructing their multiracial/multiethnic identity. The research addresses gaps in the existing knowledge on mixed heritage identity. The aim is to shed light on how individuals navigate their identities in diverse social contexts, providing a nuanced understanding that can inform broader discussions on diversity. SUBJECTS: Ten participants ranging in age from 19 to 53. Participants all self-identified as Vietnamese and another race or ethnicity. All participants were American and have lived most of their lives in the United States. METHOD: This study utilized Homi Bhabha's hybridity theory to understand how these individuals negotiate and articulate their hyphenated identities. In-depth semi-structured interviews and autoethnography were used to collect data for this study. ANALYSES: The study utilized critical discourse analysis to situate the data gathered within its social context. To understand how these themes relate to socio-political and cultural structures, Bakhtin's dialogic perspective and critical discourse analysis were used to explore the interactions between social context and language in the lives of participants. RESULTS: Four major themes emerged from the interviews. Family, language, food, and artifactual communication were found to play a significant role in shaping and expressing multiracial/multiethnic Vietnamese American identities. CONCLUSIONS: These four themes help us understand how people create and negotiate cultural identity in this study and in the process of identity negotiation. While this study focused narrowly on Vietnamese American mixed identities, these themes are likely to be integral in the process of developing and maintaining a cultural identity.
Hyphenated Journeys: Identity Negotiations of Multiracial Vietnamese Americans Through the Lens of Hybridity
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall
PURPOSE: This study explores how Vietnamese Americans with mixed heritage navigate their identity. Through interviews and autoethnography, it examines how multiracial/multiethnic Vietnamese Americans maintain their Vietnamese identity while constructing their multiracial/multiethnic identity. The research addresses gaps in the existing knowledge on mixed heritage identity. The aim is to shed light on how individuals navigate their identities in diverse social contexts, providing a nuanced understanding that can inform broader discussions on diversity. SUBJECTS: Ten participants ranging in age from 19 to 53. Participants all self-identified as Vietnamese and another race or ethnicity. All participants were American and have lived most of their lives in the United States. METHOD: This study utilized Homi Bhabha's hybridity theory to understand how these individuals negotiate and articulate their hyphenated identities. In-depth semi-structured interviews and autoethnography were used to collect data for this study. ANALYSES: The study utilized critical discourse analysis to situate the data gathered within its social context. To understand how these themes relate to socio-political and cultural structures, Bakhtin's dialogic perspective and critical discourse analysis were used to explore the interactions between social context and language in the lives of participants. RESULTS: Four major themes emerged from the interviews. Family, language, food, and artifactual communication were found to play a significant role in shaping and expressing multiracial/multiethnic Vietnamese American identities. CONCLUSIONS: These four themes help us understand how people create and negotiate cultural identity in this study and in the process of identity negotiation. While this study focused narrowly on Vietnamese American mixed identities, these themes are likely to be integral in the process of developing and maintaining a cultural identity.