Reclaiming Chineseness: Exploring Ethnic Identity Negotiation Among Chinese Canadian Youth Activists in Vancouver’s Chinatown
Olivia Wong
Introduction
Conclusion
Analysis
Theoretical Framework
Methods
Theoretical Framework
Model of Ethnic Identity Development Phinney (1993)
Communication Theory of Identity Hecht et al. (2005)
Place-Identity Theory Proshansky et al. (1983)
Three stages of ethnic identity development among young people: 1. Unexamined ethnic identity 2. Ethnic identity search/moratorium 3. Ethnic identity achievement
Identity is communicative, as it is formed and changed in communication, and acted out in communication. It is presented through four interpenetrating layers: personal, enactment, relational, and communal.
Place-identity is a sub-structure of a person’s identity, which is composed of cognitions about the physical world in which the individual lives.
Informs how meanings about space become internalized and intertwined with the youths’ sense of ethnic identity.
Provides a framework for understanding the process and transformations that youth undergo through their activism.
Shows how the specific aspect of communication and relationship building helps to develop ethnic identity—an essential dimension of participation in civic engagement groups.
Analysis
From Marginalization to Community Belonging
Multigenerational Relationships as Central to Ethnic Identity Formation
Redefining What it Means to Be “Chinese”
Tying Ethnic Identity to Political Mobilization and Future Action
Conclusion
Future Directions
Implications
Explore or compare ethnic identity development among youth from other Chinatowns in different countries, in areas of varying levels of ethnic diversity.
Youth activists redefine “Chineseness” beyond inherited, racialized, and nationalist frameworks.
Examine differences in the strength of ethnic identity among youth who participate in civic engagement groups in their Chinatowns, those participating in other culturally enriching activities, and those with minimum cultural programming.
Findings support the funding of and investment in youth-led or youth-oriented cultural spaces and organizations.
Survey the ethnic identity development of Chinatown activists from childhood into adulthood (longitudinal study).
Findings justify the preservation and enrichment of the Chinatown community: Urban planners must consider the psychological, social, and cultural attachments that individuals have to the space when considering how best to use it.
Introduction
Research Questions
Research Subject
Chinese Canadian youth aged 15–24 who are involved in civic engagement organizations in Vancouver’s Chinatown.
How does participation in civic engagement activities in Vancouver’s Chinatown influence the formation of ethnic identity among Chinese Canadian youth?
What forces influence the development and negotiation of ethnic identity among youth participating in civic engagement in Chinatown?
Research Gap
Sub-question 1
Previous studies have examined the use of space in Chinatown and the activism attempting to revitalize the community, along with ethnic identity among Chinese Canadian youth. The combination of these two elements—the impacts of participation in civic engagement organizations in Chinatown on the ethnic identities of the activists themselves—has not been studied.
How do youth navigate multiple and sometimes conflicting identities through their participation, and what tensions arise in the process?
Sub-question 2
What outcomes and/or transformations do youth embrace through their civic engagement?
Sub-question 3
Methods
Overview
Sample Information:
- Method of data collection: 5 semi-structured interviews (16 questions, 1-1.5 hours)
- Selection criteria: Chinese Canadian youth aged 15–24 who participate in civic engagement organizations in Vancouver’s Chinatown
- Recruitment method: Purposive sampling and snowball sampling
Interviews with individuals from the following organizations:
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Transcript
Reclaiming Chineseness: Exploring Ethnic Identity Negotiation Among Chinese Canadian Youth Activists in Vancouver’s Chinatown
Olivia Wong
Introduction
Conclusion
Analysis
Theoretical Framework
Methods
Theoretical Framework
Model of Ethnic Identity Development Phinney (1993)
Communication Theory of Identity Hecht et al. (2005)
Place-Identity Theory Proshansky et al. (1983)
Three stages of ethnic identity development among young people: 1. Unexamined ethnic identity 2. Ethnic identity search/moratorium 3. Ethnic identity achievement
Identity is communicative, as it is formed and changed in communication, and acted out in communication. It is presented through four interpenetrating layers: personal, enactment, relational, and communal.
Place-identity is a sub-structure of a person’s identity, which is composed of cognitions about the physical world in which the individual lives.
Informs how meanings about space become internalized and intertwined with the youths’ sense of ethnic identity.
Provides a framework for understanding the process and transformations that youth undergo through their activism.
Shows how the specific aspect of communication and relationship building helps to develop ethnic identity—an essential dimension of participation in civic engagement groups.
Analysis
From Marginalization to Community Belonging
Multigenerational Relationships as Central to Ethnic Identity Formation
Redefining What it Means to Be “Chinese”
Tying Ethnic Identity to Political Mobilization and Future Action
Conclusion
Future Directions
Implications
Explore or compare ethnic identity development among youth from other Chinatowns in different countries, in areas of varying levels of ethnic diversity.
Youth activists redefine “Chineseness” beyond inherited, racialized, and nationalist frameworks.
Examine differences in the strength of ethnic identity among youth who participate in civic engagement groups in their Chinatowns, those participating in other culturally enriching activities, and those with minimum cultural programming.
Findings support the funding of and investment in youth-led or youth-oriented cultural spaces and organizations.
Survey the ethnic identity development of Chinatown activists from childhood into adulthood (longitudinal study).
Findings justify the preservation and enrichment of the Chinatown community: Urban planners must consider the psychological, social, and cultural attachments that individuals have to the space when considering how best to use it.
Introduction
Research Questions
Research Subject
Chinese Canadian youth aged 15–24 who are involved in civic engagement organizations in Vancouver’s Chinatown.
How does participation in civic engagement activities in Vancouver’s Chinatown influence the formation of ethnic identity among Chinese Canadian youth?
What forces influence the development and negotiation of ethnic identity among youth participating in civic engagement in Chinatown?
Research Gap
Sub-question 1
Previous studies have examined the use of space in Chinatown and the activism attempting to revitalize the community, along with ethnic identity among Chinese Canadian youth. The combination of these two elements—the impacts of participation in civic engagement organizations in Chinatown on the ethnic identities of the activists themselves—has not been studied.
How do youth navigate multiple and sometimes conflicting identities through their participation, and what tensions arise in the process?
Sub-question 2
What outcomes and/or transformations do youth embrace through their civic engagement?
Sub-question 3
Methods
Overview
Sample Information:
Interviews with individuals from the following organizations:
+ info
+ info