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Becoming, othering, and mothering: Korean immigrant women's life stories in their intercultural families and Canadian society

The life history research reported here, explores Becoming, Othering, and Mothering experiences of Korean immigrant women with White dominant culture English speaking Canadian-born spouses, and is guided by the research questions: (1) How do the Korean immigrant women who have White dominant culture English speaking Canadian-born spouses describe their linguistic and cultural integration into their intercultural families and Canadian society? (2) How do they negotiate and reconstruct their identities? (3) How do they describe their strengths and challenges as foreign wives and immigrant mothers in intercultural families and as immigrants in Canadian society? and (4) How do they deal with their children’s dual languages, cultures and identities? Multiple life history interviews were conducted with seven participants; additionally, the researcher’s autoethnography was included. The data were examined through reflexive analysis—within-case analysis, and across-case analysis—and interpreted through an interpretivist perspective (Crotty, 1998; Mack, 2010). Emergent themes in three main categories include—becoming, othering and mothering—each of which is discussed in terms of language socialization, linguistic and cultural power relations, and the impact of linguistic and cultural integration and power relations on participants’ identities. This research brings to attention the circumstances of linguistically, culturally, and racially marginalized minority people in Canada. When the intercultural family is viewed as a microcosm of Canada’s multicultural society, this research provides to both dominant-culture Canadians and minority group people, awareness of how linguistic, cultural, and racial hegemony marginalizes minority people in Canada. / May 2016

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:MANITOBA/oai:mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca:1993/31229
Date15 April 2016
CreatorsBuettner, Eunhee
ContributorsKouritzin, Sandra (Education), Li, Yi (Education) Wilkinson, Lori (Sociology) Bilash, Olenka (University of Alberta)
Source SetsUniversity of Manitoba Canada
Detected LanguageEnglish

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