Navajo students who attend residential schools that are located off the reservation and hours away from their homes, communities, and tribes may experience issues with development of a meaningful cultural identity. The purpose of this study was to better understand and identify key themes related to how Navajo students' cultural identity may be affected while living in an off-reservation residential hall. Phinney's ethnic identity development theory was used to explain the psychosocial process of developing industry and identity in adolescents. The primary research question addressed how former students' experiences of living in an off-reservation residence hall affected their development of cultural identity. A qualitative case study design was used. A purposeful sample of 12 Navajo former students who lived in a Bureau of Indian Education off-reservation residential hall between 2010-2014 was interviewed. The interviews were coded, and 7 themes related to loss of native language ability, yearning for native language and culture, tutoring, supportive teachers, responsibility and independence, generational legacy, and culture were identified. Based on the findings, a professional development plan was developed to train board members, administrators, and staff at the study site about how to promote students' development of positive cultural identity while living in a residential hall. With this knowledge, residential hall leaders and staff may be better able to ensure that Navajo students in their charge achieve successful educational outcomes and retain their tribal culture, practices, and language, to ensure that Navajo students can achieve successful educational outcomes and a positive cultural identity.

Racial and ethnic health disparities are highest in communities of color; providing culturally competent care could address these disparities. Culturally competent communication between the healthcare provider and the patient is an essential behavior that may improve health in racially and ethnically diverse women. A quality improvement project was completed with guidance from the 5 constructs of the Campinha-Bacote model as the conceptual framework, and the method used was the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. The perspective of 20 Mexican American and 20 African American women in El Paso, Texas between ages 45 and 72 with menopausal symptoms was surveyed to determine if culture had an impact on the presence or absence of communication with their healthcare providers. Results showed women's perceptions of positive and negative communication behaviors with their healthcare providers was inconclusive; however, results showed that provider communication about health promotions, use of alternative medicine, and shared-decision making regarding health management needs improvement to promote adherence to medical regimen and feelings of mutual respect. Integrating cultural competence into existing evidence-based care can positively impact the delivery of services and help improve the quality of care. Healthcare providers can impact positive social change through the lessening of burdens associated with the lack of diversity in the workforce by including cultural competence training into the curriculum of nursing and medical schools.

This project honors and recognizes the art and activism of four Black woman--Nina Simone, Nikki Giovanni, Elizabeth Catlett, and Ntozake Shange that contributed to the revolutionary movements of the 1960s through the early 1980s. This thesis examines the works and political challenges of Black women by asking what elements in their artistry/activism addressed issues specifically related to Black women's unique position in America during the Black Revolution and feminist movements? Both primary and secondary sources such as literature from advocates of the Black Arts Movements and the lyrics, poetry, and visual art of the four Black women artists were used to gain perspectives to answer the thesis major questions. The creative visions and activism of these Black women expressed the dire need for the issues of Black women to be heard and also to address all forms of oppression that Black women experience with race, gender, social or economic status, and even cultural identity. The works of these Black women were radical and were also cultural reflections of Black women embracing their idiosyncratic position as Black women despite the climate of perpetual deceptions used either by White Western ideologies or Black male chauvinism. This thesis concluded that when the concerns of Black women are attended to by their own strengths of character and merits, they are also able in return to contribute to their own self-empowerment as well as to the development of racial, gender, and community uplift.

This thesis is divided into two sections; a theoretical section which looks at the analytic construction of collective identities, and a section which applies the theory to two Australian novels. The first four chapters use the theories of Roy Wagner, Benedict Anderson, Jacques Lacan and Homi Bhabha to look at the often unconscious construction of culture and national, and at the process of hybridity to which those constructions are continually subject.The next three chapters examine Glenda Adamss Games of the Strong and Nicholas Haslucks The Bellarmine Jug showing how an unconscious development of Australian themes runs through the novels, regardless of a lack of Australian characters and setting. The novels show the complex, unique and frequently misunderstood position Australia holds between the cultures, nations and civilisations of the East and the West.The conclusion draws together the principal arguments of the thesis and highlights some concerns which they imply for Australian and its national imagination.

Tribal traditions and practices are integral to iwi identity. From the past to the present, the biggest impact on iwi identity was colonisation and subsequent urbanisation. Urbanisation changed the foundation of identity largely due to the demographic rural-urban shift, effectively creating a distance physically and spiritually for Māori between their place of residence and their traditional tribal turangawaewae. Today a larger proportion of tribal members reside in the main urban centres of New Zealand and Australia. This phenomenon provides an ideal opportunity to explore how iwi identity is maintained in an urban setting – away from the traditional sites of cultural practice. The study, which focuses on Ngāti Awa members residing in Auckland, provided evidence that the foundation of an iwi identity is still heavily reliant on strong iwi-based whānau. The corollary is that, strengthening the tribal knowledge base of whānau residing in urban centres may require new or increased active participation in the customs and practices of their iwi. Regrettably, only three of the ten research participants had an in-depth knowledge of their whakapapa, histories and traditions. However, all the participants indicated the need to become more pro-active in creating and expanding on their knowledge base of iwitanga (including te reo). There was also acknowledgement that urban-based iwi marae and whānau wānanga can provide individuals with the opportunities to learn more about their iwi traditions (and thereby reinforce their sense of tribal identity). Encouragingly, each participant confirmed that identifying as Ngāti Awa was important to them, largely due to the sense of belonging and identity. The study concluded that the sustainability of iwi is reliant on iwi members supporting their iwi regardless of the location of their upbringing.

This research focuses on the cultural identity of Chinese Australian adolescents in Canberra between the ages of 18 and 21. Adolescence is a developmental stage in which young people feel a need to define their cultural identity. According to social identity theory, being a member of the group provides individuals with a sense of belonging that contributes to a positive self-concept. In particular, young people belonging to ethnic minority groups need a firm sense of group identification in order to maintain a sense of wellbeing (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). The purpose and significance of this study is to update our understanding of how adolescents from a specific ethnic minority group (Chinese Australian) adjust to the mainstream Australian culture. The information gathered will be significant to the wellbeing of these individuals in helping them to come to terms with their own identity. It will also provide useful information for effective cross-cultural interaction for a range of services such as education, law, health and social services. The quantitative and qualitative approaches employed in this study include a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The semi-structured interview complements the questionnaire in confirming the adjustments of these adolescents within an analytical framework that is a replica of Phinney's framework (1994). In her research on bicultural identity orientations of African American and Mexican American adolescents, Phinney categorised these adolescents under four distinct types of interaction with the mainstream culture. These are namely: separation (focus only on the ethnic culture), assimilation (identifying solely with the dominant culture), integration (relating well to both cultures) and marginality (relating to neither culture). In this dissertation the researcher also aims to determine the cultural identity of Chinese Australian adolescents in Canberra in the study using these four categories. The results of this study demonstrate that this framework is an appropriate analytical tool for the study of the cultural identity of Chinese Australian adolescents, most of whom classified themselves as integrated. Overall, Chinese Australian adolescents between the ages of 18 and 21 in the Canberra region were well adjusted and showed little tension or stress in relating to their ethnic culture or to the mainstream Australian culture.

This thesis maps Takashi Murakami's Theory of Superflat Art and his associated artistic practices and works. The study situates Murakami and Superflat within the context of globalising culture. The thesis interrogates Murakami's art and the theory of superflat within the historical, social, and cultural contexts of their production-consumption in Japan, the United States, and Europe. The thesis identifies Superflat art and Murakami's work as actively participating in, and expressing, the cultural conditions associated with the 'global postmodern' and globalisation processes. The thesis employs a Cultural Studies theoretical and heuristic framework, utilising a range of contemporary critical theorisations on postmodern art, Japanese cultural identity and globalisation. This framework and approach are adopted in order to draw attention to ways in which Murakami and Superflat articulate and represent the fundamental contentions and dialogues that characterise contem porary globalisation processes. The tensions that are articulated in relation to the discursive construction of the concepts of art/commodity, modern/postmodern and global/local cultural identities. Importantly, this research demonstrates the ways in which Murakami both participates in, and challenges, the conceptual distinctions indexed within the concepts of 'art' as an aesthetic expression and 'commodity' as an object of symbolic exchange in the global marketplace. It interprets Superflat as an 'expressivity' that challenges binary demarcations being constructed between art and commercial culture, and between the aesthetic-cultural identities of Japan and the West. This thesis problematises the meaning of Murakami's concept and aesthetic of Superflat art by drawing attention to these contestations within Murakami's works and Superflat which are generated as they circulate globally. The thesis argues that Murakami strategically presents his work and Superflat art as an expression of Japanese identity which paradoxically also expresses the fluid imaginings of cultural identity available through contemporary global exchanges. This deliberate territorialising and deterritorialising impulse does not resolve the contentions emerging in globalisation, but rather amplifies them, exposing the key debates on the formation of cultural identity as an oppositional expression and as a commodity in global markets. The concept of 'strategic essentialism' is used as a theoretical lens in order to understand Murakami and Superflat's activation of these global processes. This research contributes a valuable case study to the understanding of cultural production as a strategic negotiation and expression of the flows of capital and culture in globalisation.

Over the last decades Britain´s ethnic minorities have successfully established themselves in a multicultural society. In particular, Indian – Hindu communities generally improved their social and economic situation. In this context, the third generation of British Indians is now growing up. In contrast to the previous generation of the Indian diaspora, these children grow up in an established ethnic community, which learned to retain its religion, traditions and culture in a foreign environment. At the same time, these children are part of the multicultural British society. Based on the academic discussion about the second generation of immigrated ethnic communities, when the youth often suffered from cultural differences, racism and discrimination and therefore rejected aspects of their culture of origin, this paper assumes that the loss of the culture of origin further increases in the third generation. This thesis follows the main theories about the connection between generation and integration. It is believed that the preference of western culture influences the personal, ethnic and cultural identity of young people. This leads to the rejection of traditional bonds. Before introducing this thesis various theoretical concepts are discussed which are inevitable for the comprehension of the diasporic situation in which British Indian youngsters grow up. As part of the worldwide Asian Indian diaspora Indian families in Britain maintain manifold links to Indian communities in various countries. Particularly, the link to India plays a decisive role; the subcontinent is referred to as an abstract homeland, especially by the first generation. While the grandparents strongly adhere to their Indian culture and Hindu religion, the second generation already generated cultural change. In this process various cultural values of the Indian ethnic community have been questioned and modified. Further, the second generation pushed the integration into the British society by giving up the dependence on the ethnic network. This paper is based on a hybrid and fluent definition of culture. This definition also applies to the underlying understanding of identity and ethnicity. Due to migration, cultural contact and the multilocality of the diaspora, diasporic and post-diasporic identities and cultures are characterized by hybridity, heterogeneity, fragmentation and flexibility. Particularly, in the younger generation – though dependent on a number of social and structural factors - cultural change and mixture happen; in this process new ethnicities and identities evolve. In the second and third part of this paper the thesis of loss of culture of origin is refuted on the basis of findings from empirical research. British - Indian youngsters in London have been questioned for the study. Half of the youngsters are related to a sampradaya, a Hindu sect. This enables the author to compare youngsters who do not belong to a particular religious group with those who are included into a religious and / or ethnic community through a sampradaya. The analysis of the findings which are based on qualitative and quantitative social research shows that the young people have great interest in their culture of origin and that they aim to maintain this culture in the diaspora. They identify as Indian and are proud of their cultural differences. In this, they differ from the second generation. In contrast to the generation of their grandparents the Indian identity of the third generation is not based on nostalgic memories. They confirm and emphasize their postdiasporic difference in a western multicultural society. The findings from the survey hereby exceed the thesis from Hansen’s theory about the rediscovery of the culture of origin in the third generation. The comparison of both groups shows that in the context of the differentiation of postmodern and postcolonial communities also ethnic groups become increasingly differentiated. Therefore, the Indian heritage and culture does not play the same role for every young British Indian. / In den letzten Jahrzehnten haben sich Großbritanniens Minoritäten zunehmend in einer multikulturellen Gesellschaft etabliert. Insbesondere die indisch-hinduistischen Gruppen haben dabei ihre soziale und ökonomische Situation größtenteils verbessert. So wächst nunmehr die dritte Generation von Indern in Großbritannien heran. Im Gegensatz zu den vorhergehenden Generationen der indischen Diaspora wachsen diese Kinder in einer etablierten ethnischen Gemeinschaft auf, die es gelernt hat ihre Religion, Tradition und Kultur in der fremden Umgebung zu erhalten. Gleichzeitig sind sie Teil der multikulturellen britischen Gesellschaft. Ausgehend von der Diskussion der Literatur über die zweite Generation in immigrierten ethnischen Gemeinschaften, deren Jugendliche oft unter den kulturellen Gegensätzen, Rassismus und Diskriminierung litten und daher verschiedene Aspekte ihrer Herkunftskultur ablehnten, geht diese Arbeit von der These aus, dass sich der Verlust der Herkunftskultur in der dritten Generation verstärkt. Diese Annahme folgt gängigen Theorien über den Zusammenhang zwischen Generation und Integration. Dabei wird weiterhin angenommen, dass sich die Präferenz der westlichen Kultur auch auf die persönliche, ethnische und kulturelle Identität der Jugendlichen auswirkt, was zu einer Abkehr von traditionellen Bindungen führt. Hinleitend auf diese These werden zunächst verschiedene theoretische Konzepte diskutiert, die für das Verständnis der diasporischen Situation, in der britisch-indische Jugendliche aufwachsen, unumgänglich sind. Als eine der Größten umspannt die indische Diaspora die Welt. Dies bedeutet, dass Familien vielfältige Verknüpfungen zu indischen Gemeinden in verschiedenen Ländern unterhalten. Insbesondere aber die Verbindung nach Indien spielt eine herausragende Rolle, als dass der Subkontinent in vielen Familien als abstrakte Heimatreferenz erhalten bleibt, die besonders von der ersten Generation konserviert wird. Während die Großeltern stark an der indischen Kultur und hinduistischen Religion festhalten, bewirkte bereits die zweite Generation einen kulturellen Wandel. Dabei wurden verschiedene kulturelle Werte der ethnischen Gemeinde in Frage gestellt und modifiziert. Weiterhin trieb die zweite Generation die Integration in die britische Gesellschaft voran, indem sie die Abhängigkeit von einem ethnischen Netzwerk aufgab. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird von einem hybriden und nicht-statischen Kulturbegriff ausgegangen. Diese Definition trifft auch für das Identitäts- und Ethnizitätsverständnis zu, von denen in dem vorliegenden Text ausgegangen wird. Aufgrund von Migration, Kulturkontakt und der Multilokalität der Diaspora sind diasporische und postdiasporische Identitäten und Kulturen geprägt von Hybridität, Heterogenität, Fragmentierung und Flexibilität. Besonders in den jüngeren Generationen kommt es abhängig von verschiedenen sozialen und strukturellen Faktoren zu kulturellem Wandel und Vermischung, wobei neue Ethnizitäten und Identitäten entstehen. Im zweiten und dritten Teil wird die These des Verlustes der Herkunftskultur auf Grundlage empirischer Forschungsergebnisse widerlegt. Dafür wurden indisch-stämmige Jugendliche in London untersucht. Etwa die Hälfte der Jugendlichen ist an eine sampradaya, eine hinduistische Sekte, gebunden. Dies ermöglicht einen Vergleich zwischen nicht religiös-gebundenen Jugendlichen und solchen die über eine sampradaya in eine ethnische und / oder religiöse Gemeinde eingebunden sind. Die Analyse der auf qualitativer und quantitativer Sozialforschung basierenden Ergebnisse kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass die Jugendlichen ein sehr großes Interesse an ihrer Herkunftskultur und deren Erhalt in der Diaspora haben. Sie fühlen sich als Inder und sind stolz auf ihre kulturelle Differenz. Darin unterscheiden sie sich von der zweiten Generation. Im Gegensatz zur Generation ihrer Großeltern, basiert die indische Identität der dritten Generation jedoch nicht auf nostalgischen Erinnerungen. Sie betonen und bestätigen ihre postdiasporische Andersheit in einer westlich multikulturellen Gesellschaft. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung gehen dabei über die These von Hansens Theorie über die Wiederentdeckung der Herkunftskultur in der dritten Generation hinaus. Durch den Vergleich der unterschiedlichen Gruppen wird deutlich, dass es im Rahmen der Ausdifferenzierung postmoderner und postkolonialer Gesellschaften auch zu einer Ausdifferenzierung der ethnischen Gruppe kommt. Die indische Herkunft und Kultur spielt daher nicht für jeden jungen British Inder die gleiche Rolle.

Die 1880er Jahre waren der Beginn einer massiven europäischen Einwanderung nach Argentinien. In dieser Arbeit werden kulturelle, politische, wirtschaftliche und demographische Veränderungen für das Land untersucht und welche Auswirkungen diese auf das Selbstverständnis der argentinischen Intellektuellen und die argentinische Kultur hatten. Die leitende Frage wird sein, wie eine kulturelle und nationale Identität in Zeiten der massiven Einwanderungswellen im Untersuchungszeitraum entstehen konnte. Dabei wird die politisch-historische Entwicklung, d.h. die Konstitution einer nationalen Identität, erörtert: Ist Argentinien mit der Unabhängigkeit im Jahre 1810 tatsächlich wirtschaftlich und politisch eigenständig geworden ist? Durch Balibars Nationenbegriff wird verifiziert werden, dass sich das Land erst im Untersuchungszeitraum zu einer Nation wandelte, das jedoch eine fragile Identität besaß. Zum anderen werden anhand des Assmannschen Konzeptes des Kulturellen Gedächtnisses die Erinnerungskultur und die Ausbildung eines kulturellen Gedächtnisses der argentinischen Intellektuellen erörtert. Ein einheitliches Bewusstsein für nationale und kulturelle Werte war nicht existent. Dies spiegelte sich in der Literatur, in der Kunst und im Theater im Untersuchungszeitraum wider. Im Laufe der massiven Einwanderungsströme entstand eine neue Gesellschaft, nichtsdestotrotz wurden kulturelle Neuerungen der Einwanderer kaum in die kulturelle Identität integriert. Nicht nur die eigene Kultur wurde verklärt gesehen, sondern auch die europäische Kultur überformt und selektiert, dessen Abbild in die argentinische Kultur integriert wurde. Durch diese Arbeit sollen Erkenntnisse aus historischer Sicht gewonnen werden, die bis heute Argentinien und den gesamten südamerikanischen Kontinent prägen: die Frage nach der Identität, die in Zeiten massiver Immigration verstärkt gestellt wurde. / In Argentina the 1880s mark the beginning of a huge flow of European immigrants to the country. This article deals with the cultural, political, economic and demographic changes and which consequences these had for the identity of Argentinian intellectuals and for Argentinian culture. The article also focuses on answering the prevalent question of how a cultural and national identity could develope in times of massive immigration during this era. The author attempts at examining the political development within its historic context, which gives key clues about the constitution of a national identity: Did Agentina really become self-sufficient politically and economically with its independence in 1810? Balibar's definition of nations confirms that the country of Argentina only developed into a nation during the examined time period of the 1880s, although with a yet fragile identity. The concept of Assmann helps to identify the collective memory and cultural identity of Argentinian intellectuals. Prior to the migration flow examined in this article, a homogeneous consciousness of national and cultural values did not exist. Literature, art and theatre during the examined era all reflected the lack thereof. During the migration flow a new society developed, in which, nevertheless, new cultural values of the immigrants were barely absorbed. Not only did one view Argentinian values in an idealized way, but one also saw selected parts of European culture as ideals, which were integrated into Argentinian culture as they were understood. The findings drawn from a historic context in this article will provide valuable information about questions of identity that, especially during migration flows, continue to be of interest in Argentina and the whole South American continent until today.

Current scholarship recognizes that music is a powerful channel that can manifest individual identity. But such research takes for granted music as a symbol of collective cultural identity, and, therefore, neglects examining how music in general, but musical performance in particular, functions to produce and reproduce a society at large. Indeed, what is missing is a rigorous understanding of not only how the act of performing forms collective identity, but also how it acts as an agency, indeed, perhaps the only agency that enables this process. As Thomas Turino suggests, externalized musical practice can facilitate the creation of emergent cultural identities, and help in forming life in new cultural surroundings. The present thesis examines the dynamics between cultural identity and music from the perspective of the performing musician. By examining musical situations in the context of the Armenian – Canadian diaspora, I will show how performers themselves both evoke feelings of nostalgia for the homeland and maintain the traditions of their culture through the performance event, while simultaneously serving as cultural ambassadors for the Armenian – Canadian community. My thesis outlines four key themes that are crucial in understanding the roles of musicians in Armenian culture. They are tradition bearer, educator, cultural ambassador, and artisan. As boundaries between peoples and nations progressively blur, I conclude that performance proves a vital medium where a search for national identity can occur, frequently resulting in the realization of one’s ethnic identity. Ultimately, without the labors of the performing musician, music would be unable to do the social work that is necessary in forming cultural, social, or even personal identities.