Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2009. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (p.197-217).

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This thesis examines processes of identity construction as they are represented in four contemporary prairie texts. In his book The Protean Self: Human Resilience in an Age of Fragmentation, Robert J. Lifton describes a process of identity formation that he terms proteanism, which denotes a certain “responsive shapeshifting” (Lifton 9) that allows the self to maintain fluid or malleable relationships with the various forces that affect or influence its construction. Through this analysis I intend to show how the authorial personae created in The Kappa Child by Hiromi Goto, Esi Edugyan’s The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, Steppe: A Novel by John Weier and City Treaty by Marvin Francis demonstrate, in their identitarian struggles, protean forms of resilience when dealing with the forces of genre and formal convention, as well as with the politics of postcolonialism, ethnicity, authenticity and authority that impress upon their identities and surge within their narratives.

No description available.

This thesis examines processes of identity construction as they are represented in four contemporary prairie texts. In his book The Protean Self: Human Resilience in an Age of Fragmentation, Robert J. Lifton describes a process of identity formation that he terms proteanism, which denotes a certain “responsive shapeshifting” (Lifton 9) that allows the self to maintain fluid or malleable relationships with the various forces that affect or influence its construction. Through this analysis I intend to show how the authorial personae created in The Kappa Child by Hiromi Goto, Esi Edugyan’s The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, Steppe: A Novel by John Weier and City Treaty by Marvin Francis demonstrate, in their identitarian struggles, protean forms of resilience when dealing with the forces of genre and formal convention, as well as with the politics of postcolonialism, ethnicity, authenticity and authority that impress upon their identities and surge within their narratives.

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The Thesis argues that the concept of personal identity is developed in social circumstances, relating to ideas about how the self continues through time and to person-directed concerns. Chapter one uses William Jamess classification of the constituents of the self, and his idea of the stream of consciousness, as an introduction to the concept. Chapters two and three deal with: George Meads ideas about the self arising in social interaction; Eric Olsons distinction between biological and psychological continuity; Mark Johnstons view of wide psychological continuity and his relativist approach to personal identity; Robert Nozicks notions of reflective self-reference and the closest continuer; Derek Parfits reductionist approach; Wesley Coopers elaboration of Nozicks account. Chapter four favours a physicalist account of the self and a flexible approach to the concept of personal identity, accommodating the needs and practices of the society in which the individual finds himself.

Prior to this exploratory study, issues of multiracial identity development and imposed identity had not been explored in great detail. This study sought to expand the current knowledge base by offering an examination of a) multiracial identity development for different bi/multiracial backgrounds, b) the influence of the perception of race on social interactions (imposed identity), and c) racial identification in the public and private spheres from the perspective of multi-racial individuals. A literature based survey was developed and piloted with an expert panel to increase face and content validity. For the larger study, participants were recruited using snowball and convenience sampling. Forty-five participants provided in-depth interviews and an additional 166 completed the online version of the survey. Respondents were primarily female (n = 132; 83%), 26-30 years old (n = 37; 23%), from the South (n = 57; 36%), unmarried (n = 106; 67%), childless (n = 97, 63%) and reported a yearly household income of over $95,001 (n = 36; 24%). Findings from this study support identity development literature as respondents indicated family members were most responsible for their perceptions of race, even in mixed-raced families. Respondents also indicated they had experienced imposed identity based on what others believed their race to be. Perceptions of power influenced whether or not respondents corrected others' mistaken assumptions. Additionally, respondents indicated their belief that, despite their variances in skin tone, we do not live in a color-blind society, despite widely spread claims that we live in a post-racial society. Further, respondents indicated racial cues (such as skin tone, hair texture, facial structure) are still used to categorize people according to race. Qualitative data provided specific examples of when and how multiracial respondents had experienced racism and/or benefitted from others' beliefs about their race based on skin tone alone. For example, one bi-racial respondent indicated he was placed in advanced classes in high school because he appeared as only Asian, while another indicated his race was questioned at a government agency because of how he looked, but had never experienced that problem when conducting the same business with his White mother present.

Art and lived experience are the key to my work. Standing in the Shadow of the Moon – A Diaristic Encounter With Identity Through My Everyday is an inquiry into the various possibilities for photography as a diaristic medium that blends the concepts of documentary and tableau photography, whilst exploring my identity. In this mode of expression, my project is an investigation into concepts of self-representation and subjectivity. What does it mean to create an enigmatic series of 'self-portraits' that are focused on those around me, those whom reflect me, but are not me?