Open Collections

Cebryk, Laurissa Marion

This project explores how some of Canada’s diaspora community members view their cultural identities during times of conflict. Nearly a quarter of Canada’s population is made up of immigrants of varying generations. These immigrants are the diaspora who experience their cultures, identities, and identities in conflict in shifting and sometimes confusing ways. The questions that drove this project were spurred by my own fourth-generation Ukrainian heritage. When Russia invaded Ukraine, new emotions surrounding my attachment to my heritage homeland and who I am because of those ties rose to the surface. I share this complex re-evaluation of my identity with other individuals who trace a connection to a country experiencing conflict. I set out to understand whether or not I was alone in these complex emotions and to see how others understood it for themselves. Research took the format of a deep literature review of basic theories of identity, social psychology, and cultural psychology, as well as previous research on identity, identity and social media, diaspora, and social media and news consumption by diaspora. The literature review was then used as a guideline to formulate a question line for a series of interviews conducted with Canadian diaspora members of varying generations, ages, cultural attachments, and heritage backgrounds. Those interviews, along with my personal reflections, were then compiled into a final podcast series. Cultural identity includes real and imagined attachments, and a multitude of different circumstances leading to how diaspora members feel about their homelands. Guilt, a concept called the Myth of Return, barriers to returning, and complex calls to action — from duty to social media performance — all play a part in how interviewees understood their cultural identities. The news and social media also play a key part in awareness of current events, driving action, grief, and creating a deeper understanding or attachment to heritage. All of these aspects play into a feedback loop of behaviour and validation that strengthens or weakens attachment to heritage and culture.

Canada

Text; Sound

2023-04-26

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/84483

UBCV

Graduate

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/