This paper presents a pedagogical inquiry on the impending need for teachers of underserved students to be conscious of their own cultural identity and language ideologies. The paper also inquires on the possible effect such realization has on teachers’ practices, specifically on their usage of humanizing pedagogy in their classrooms. From a Freirean standpoint three bilingual, Latina teachers were invited to enter into a dialogue in order to identify each other’s cultural identity, language ideologies and to make evident how this may have an impact or how it influences their teaching practices. Using data from interviews and other informal interactions the article examines and argues the need for teachers to enter in this type of reflective and conscientious dialogue in order to learn from each other ways to include and increase humanizing practices in their classrooms. Several themes that surface in this inquiry are 1) the importance of teachers becoming aware of their own cultural identity and language ideologies, 2) the need for formal opportunities in which teachers explore these matters in order to build a community that causes change in the educational system, and 3) the presence, if any, of humanizing practices in these teachers’ classrooms and how they can influence each other to improve the opportunities they provide for their students to succeed. / text

Processes and patterns of migration on a global scale have changed in profound ways during the last two decades (Smith and King, 2012). In the European context, this is exemplified by transformations to the traditional mobility patterns from East to West Europe (Koser and Lutz, 1998), with migrants more likely to be involved in temporary circular and transnational mobility (Favell, 2008). Since the end of the Second World War, historical and political events in Europe have facilitated the mobility of ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe to Germany. Subsequently, the fall of the Iron Curtain has permitted unrestrained East-West movements, which resulted in mass migrations towards the West and diaspora fragments in the East. However, after settlement in the West, ethnic Germans have also been absorbed within wider temporary and transnational movements (Koser, 2007). Within this context, this thesis examines the post-migratory lives of three generations of Transylvanian Saxons in Germany by exploring the cultural, social, economic and political dimensions of this community. This thesis aims to contribute to on-going academic debates about diasporas by explicitly responding to Hoerder s (2002) call for more studies on ethnic German diasporas. It shows that Transylvanian Saxons, who relocated to the ancestral homeland, do not disrupt identities and lives forged in diaspora, but rather, they negotiate complex identities and belongings in relation to both home and homeland . It reveals a double diaspora and the necessity to perceive identity and diaspora as dynamic processes and constantly evolving in relation to time, space and place. This double diasporic allegiance in the case of the Transylvanian Saxons suggests interrogating the formation of a return diaspora and its importance for processes of international migration.

O maior problema do professor na Educação de Jovens e Adultos é lidar com a multiplicidade de saberes e de modos de apreensão da realidade: os alunos chegam à escola com níveis variados de letramento e com um saber forjado por outros sistemas de cognição e de compreensão do mundo. Assim, este trabalho de pesquisa pretendeu estudar a relação entre letramento, escritas da memória e identidade cultural. O objetivo principal foi verificar até que ponto a prática pedagógica com escritas da memória contribui para o letramento de adultos oriundos de culturais orais e que tiveram pouco contato com a palavra escrita. Partiu-se da suposição de que o trabalho com as escritas da memória propiciasse o sentimento de pertencimento e levasse o aluno a construir uma imagem de si mesmo como sujeito-autor de sua escrita, compreendendo-a como prática social significativa. Com efeito, ao relembrarmos o passado, confrontamos valores, crenças e sentimentos do presente com valores, crenças e sentimentos do passado. Vozes, imagens, sons, cheiros, o passado nos assalta, e ressignificamos sentidos há muito perdidos. O espaço da memória é também o espaço da ressignificação: o espaço de construir e reconstruir representações e identidades, de acordo com os modos como, ao nos fazermos sujeitos da memória, nos ancoramos ou nos engatamos em um e não outro discurso, em um e não outro sentido. Ou seja, construímos representações do passado de acordo com as representações que fazemos do presente, e tanto umas quanto as outras são atravessadas pelas representações social e historicamente construídas.Há como que um liame ou um entrecruzamento de representações, a partir do qual forjamos uma identidade que é individual e ao mesmo tempo coletiva.Nesse movimento, negociamos significados e nos inserimos no jogo das configurações e reconfigurações das relações de poder que se consubstanciam no e pelo discurso.A metodologia desta pesquisa dividiu-se em três etapas: a aplicação de sequência didática abordando o gênero textual autobiografia e suas especificidades; coleta de dados (textos escritos pelos alunos, fichas de acompanhamento do processo ensino-aprendizagem, questionários de perfil sócio-econômico e cultural); por fim, a análise qualitativa dos dados.Fundamentaram esta pesquisa os conceitos de autonomia (FREIRE, 2002), agência (BAZERMAN, 2006, 2011, 2015; KLEIMAN, 2006), autoria (POSSENTI, 2002; TFOUNI, 2005, 2010), letramento ideológico (STREET, 2014) e memória coletiva (HALBWACHS, 1990; BOSI, 1979, 2003). Concluiu-se que, ao fazer da palavra escrita uma forma de reviver sua experiência por meio do discurso da memória, o aluno ressignifica a prática letrada, reconceitualiza-a: a palavra escrita lhe pertence e ele é pertencido por ela. / A teacher in Youth and Adult Education major problem is dealing with the multiplicity of knowledge and multiple ways of apprehending reality: students come to school with various levels of literacy and knowledge forged by other cognitive systems and ways of understanding the world. Thus, this research aimed at studying the relationship between literacy, written memory and cultural identity. The main objective was to determine to what extent pedagogical practices with written memory contribute to literacy of adults that came from oral culture or had little contact with the written word. We started from the assumption that the work with written memory propitiates the feeling of belonging and leads the students to build an image of themselves as a subject-author of their writing, understanding it as a significant social practice. Indeed, by remembering the past, we confront values, beliefs and feelings of this with values, beliefs and feelings of the present. Voices, images, sounds and smells; the past assaults us, and resignifies meanings long lost. Memory space is also the space of ressignification: the space where we construct and reconstruct representations and identities, according to the ways by which, as we becomea subject of memory, we \"anchor\" or we \"engage\" in one instead of another discourse, in one meaning instead of another. In other words, we build representations of the past according to the representations we make of the present, both contaminated by representations socially and historically constructed. There is a sort of bond or an intersection of representations, from which we forge an identity that is individual and collective at the same time. In this movement, we negotiate meanings and we insert ourselves into the set of configurations and reconfigurations of power relations that are embodied in and through discourse.The methodology of this research was divided into three stages: the application of didactic sequence addressing the genre \"autobiography\" and its specifics; data collection (texts written by students, monitoring reports of the teaching-learning process, socio-economic and cultural profile questionnaires); and last but not least, qualitative data analysis. We based this research upon the concepts autonomy (FREIRE, 2002), agency (BAZERMAN, 2006, 2011, 2015; KLEIMAN, 2006), authorship (POSSENTI, 2002; TFOUNI, 2005, 2010), ideological literacy (STREET, 2014) and collective memory (HALBWACHS, 1990; BOSI, 1979, 2003). We came to the conclusion that, by turning the written word into a way of reliving their experience through the memory discourse, students reframe literacy practice and reconceptualize it: the written word belongs to them and they are belongedby it.

This thesis investigates and analyses the child-rearing patterns of two groups of Japanese parents living in Perth, Western Australia. The first group, the 'Stayers have migrated to Australia as a couple with the intention of making Australia their home and occasionally visiting Japan with their children. The second group, the Sojourners' are in Australia for a fixed period of time, generally 4-5 years, as a result of the company requirements expected of the husband/father. Their time in Australia is an interlude, an experience, an opportunity for the whole family.The research compares a number of case studies of families in both groups. In depth interviews following detailed questionnaires provide the data about the child-rearing practices as expressed by mothers and fathers in the two groups. Parental expectation of children's private and public behaviour, as well as their relevance to gender and age are explored.The findings from the survey suggested that the qualities held to be the most important for the Stayer group were those qualities that would be useful for their children to be successful in Australia. Qualities such as independence, assertiveness and using initiative were rated as being more desirable to develop for the children in the Stayer group than those children in the Sojourner group. Some Stayer families with older children had socialised their children to operate successfully in both cultures. The findings also suggested that the qualities held to be important for the Sojourner group were consistent with the qualities that the Japanese view as being valued for Japanese in Japan.

Global diasporas caused by wars carry many streams of people - in the 1970s one of these streams contained orphans from Vietnam delivered to white parents in the West. On arrival, the social expectation was that these children would blend seamlessly into the culture of their adoptive parents. Now some adoptees, as adults, reflect on their lives as 'Asian' or racially 'Other' children in white societies, charting the critical points in their maturation. This thesis interrogates their life histories to explore the role of birth-culture in the self-definition of people removed from that culture at birth or in childhood. Thirteen adult adopted Vietnamese participants were interviewed. These interviews provided qualitative data on issues of racial and cultural identity. These data were developed and analysed, using a framework drawn from symbolic interactionism and cultural studies, in order to reveal the interpersonal dynamics in which people were involved, and the broader cultural relations that sustained them. The findings reveal that in early childhood the adopted Vietnamese identity process was shaped by a series of identifications with, and affirmations of, sharing their adoptive parents racial and cultural identity. Such identifications were then challenged once the adoptees entered society and were seen by others as different. The participants' attempts to locate a secure sense of self and identity within the world they are placed in are disturbed by numerous uncertainties surrounding racial and cultural difference. One of the most crucial uncertainties is the adopted Vietnamese knowledge about their cultural background. While most felt they lacked positive knowledge about Vietnam and racial diversity, their sense of identity was unsettled by experiences with racism and negative cultural stereotypes throughout their late childhood to adolescence. As their recognition and acceptance of their difference develops in adulthood, they experience a degree of empowerment due to their being able to access more knowledge about their cultural background and a greater appreciation of racial diversity. Many participants have formed closer ties with other people born in Vietnam, most notably other adoptees; most returned to visit Vietnam. The thesis concludes that those adoptees who were able to develop an understanding of the Vietnamese and other backgrounds to their complex identities, tended to be more integrated as adults than those who either rejected or were unable to come to terms with their Vietnamese ancestry.

During the last one year, while working on this thesis, I have been asked several times as to how Islam or Islamic fundamentalism makes a communication thesis. The answer is simple: my concern is not Islam as a religion or fundamentalism as a religious or political movement but the way Islam is defined and fundamentalism presented. In the age of communication reality is not just what we see or sense but what we are shown and made to perceive. It would be no exaggeration to suggest that today our dependence on the communication networks is such that even for something that happens in front of us we need interpretations to fully comprehend it. Thus reality without interpretations, in most cases, has come to carry little meaning. Our perception of reality today is not based on our individual experiences only. It is, in fact, the sum total of the reality plus interpretations by the 'public arenas' such as education institutions, mass media, the civil service, parliament, the courts, industry, the research and scientific community, political parties etc. (Cracknell, 1993: 4). This study deals with the interpretations of Islam and Islamic fundamentalism by the Muslim as well as western public arenas. Throughout this thesis I use the word 'Islam' not as a religion but as a symbol of political power and cultural identity. Because, I believe that Islam as a faith is a personal and spiritual matter that for majority of the Muslims, like the believers of any religion, need not be compared with any other religion unless to prove it superior. But as a symbol of political power and cultural identity Islam does need interpretations and has been interpreted in many different ways. What triggered my interest in yet another interpretation was that what I had seen in Pakistan and what I felt the West thought of Muslim societies had no logical connection. For instance, there is a widespread belief in the West that Muslim societies are deeply religious and Islam guides every aspect of the Muslims' life. The reality that I have seen and experienced in Pakistan society, which is ninety-six per cent Muslim, is that few, very few indeed, Muslims may be willing to die or kill for Islam, but will not live according to Islam. The people of Pakistan, in their day-to-day life, are as secular as the people of any other part of the world. They have all human virtues and vices that human beings are capable of anywhere in the world. But still there is no denying the fact that Pakistan, or for that matter any underdeveloped society, is different from the industrialised West. How and why are they different is what I have investigated in this thesis. I have no hesitation in admitting that except for the discrepancy in the reality that I had seen in Pakistan and its perception that I noticed in the West, I had no clear idea about the subject. But I have always believed, as Sartre has said somewhere, that the honourable thing about reading is to let yourself be influenced. I claim to have started this thesis with an open mind, but I do not claim to be an objective writer, unless objectivity is seen as nothing but to be honest to one's self as well as others. All of us live with our subjectivity that is influenced by our individual and collective objective conditions. Most of us are content to live with what we have learnt during our formative phase in life. Some of us are not. I belong to the latter tribe. Through the years I have unlearnt many a thing about religion, culture and human beings that I had learnt from my family, school and society, to accommodate more ideas, opinions and concepts, not less. That process still continues. One thing that I have learnt in life, and which I shall cherish forever, is that human beings must not be frozen in their cultural, religious and social categories; they must not be seen as good and bad without an understanding of their environment.

<p>Abstract</p><p>When immigrants move to Sweden from their native country it is not unusual that they experience some kind of identity crises. Their own experience of their cultural identity can be very problematic and they often lose a part of what they previously saw as their own identity. To handle such crises the immigrants can use different strategies. They can for example accept their disparity, deny it or emphasize it. The aim of this study is to examine how immigrants in Sweden experience that their cultural identity has changed since they moved here from a country that has a culture that is different from the Swedish culture. To reach my goal with this study I interviewed immigrants/refugees from Chile, Lebanon and Thailand. Some of the results are that my presentation of the problem and the aim with the study were not profound enough. I intended to only write about cultural identity but I came to the conclusion that individual identity and different adaptation strategies were no less important. A further conclusion is that these three ingredients are completely different things; an immigrant can have one individual identity, another cultural identity and use a strategy that does not correspond with any of these. Moreover I also found that a person’s identity does not need to change when moving from their native country to Sweden. Finally I want to stress that my study is not about making sweeping statements, it is rather exemplifying. Identity and strategies are different from one person to another.</p><p>Keywords: individual identity, cultural identity, adaptation strategies</p>

Abstract When immigrants move to Sweden from their native country it is not unusual that they experience some kind of identity crises. Their own experience of their cultural identity can be very problematic and they often lose a part of what they previously saw as their own identity. To handle such crises the immigrants can use different strategies. They can for example accept their disparity, deny it or emphasize it. The aim of this study is to examine how immigrants in Sweden experience that their cultural identity has changed since they moved here from a country that has a culture that is different from the Swedish culture. To reach my goal with this study I interviewed immigrants/refugees from Chile, Lebanon and Thailand. Some of the results are that my presentation of the problem and the aim with the study were not profound enough. I intended to only write about cultural identity but I came to the conclusion that individual identity and different adaptation strategies were no less important. A further conclusion is that these three ingredients are completely different things; an immigrant can have one individual identity, another cultural identity and use a strategy that does not correspond with any of these. Moreover I also found that a person’s identity does not need to change when moving from their native country to Sweden. Finally I want to stress that my study is not about making sweeping statements, it is rather exemplifying. Identity and strategies are different from one person to another. Keywords: individual identity, cultural identity, adaptation strategies

This thesis aims to, with the aid of Anthony Gidden¡¦s and Stuart Hall¡¦s theories on modernity and identity, discuss the process of changes initiated by modernity in the societies of V. S. Naipaul¡¦s three Trinidad novels in his writing career: namely, The Mystic Masseur (1957), Miguel Street (1959), and A House for Mr. Biswas (1961). My argument is that in these Trinidad novels, the process of modernization is fragmenting the old and agrarian Trinidadian society, and therefore has caused rupture and discontinuities in people¡¦s life. This fragment is actually a pertinent chance for both the protagonists and Naipaul to regain their genuine self and cultural identity by escaping from the limiting environment. In Chapter One, there is basic historical background information of Trinidad and of V. S. Naipaul. I will list out some key concepts of Anthony Gidden¡¦s ideas of modernity, along with the ones of the importance of self-identity in a modern society. Moreover, Stuart Hall¡¦s concepts of modernity and identity will be presented as well. Chapter Two, with some comparisons with The Mystic Masseur and A House for Mr. Biswas, will mainly focus on Miguel Street and on the impact of modernity on it. The institutional and economical changes caused by modernity lead to rupture and discontinuity in people¡¦s life, and consequently, force them to search for self-identity. Chapter Three will move on to discussion of the self-identity formation of Mr. Biswas in A House for Mr. Biswas. During his growth and struggle in Trinidad, he finally gains his identity as an individual in a modern society. Moreover, his newly established sense of cultural identity will be inherited by his son, Anand. Anand serves an analogy to the boy narrator in Miguel Street whereas Ganesh in The Mystic Masseur is seen as an antithesis to Mr. Biswas. At last, I will define Naipaul¡¦s sense of identity as a Trinidad-born writer.

Female genital mutilation is an important human rights and health issue in both Canada and Africa. The Canadian government has made efforts towards eradicating this practice by making it a criminal offense, a “remedy” popularly used in Africa as well. Despite the efforts made by governments, law enforcement, along with international human rights organizations, female genital mutilation persists among African immigrants living in Canada and is still practiced by some in Africa. Using international and government laws and policies, documents, case study reports and articles, this thesis questions why the criminalization of female genital mutilation has not reduced this practice among Africans and immigrants living in Canada. Using qualitative case study research methodology as well as the theories of cultural relativism and feminist human rights, this thesis suggests that cultural practices are resistant to change, even among families who move to societies where the practices are legally criminalized and socially rejected. As such, the strategy of eradicating this cultural practice through criminalization has been largely unsuccessful because of strong social forces as exemplified in myths, cultural reasons and the medicalization of female genital mutilation. This thesis concludes by proposing the need to address the status of females among groups who perpetuate this practice and adopting other measures to supplement the laws which are already in place. / February 2016