Constructing My Cultural Identity - 6012 Words

The Alberta Journal of Educational Research Vol. 54, No. 3, Fall 2008, 272-282 Erica Neegan Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto Constructing My Cultural Identity: A Reflection on the Contradictions, Dilemmas, and Reality This article provides a critical reflective analysis of my life growing up in Jamaica where I attended colonial school, to making the transition to high school in the Canadian context. I examine the elements that have influenced my cultural/racial identity as a person of African ancestry living in the diaspora. I ask questions such as how has colonial education influenced my cultural identity and how I see myself? I address the complexity of my racial and gender identity†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, because anticolonial discourse is about the absence of colonial imposition, colonialism must be seen not from the perspective of being foreign, but rather as a system of domination and conquest (Dei, 2002). This type of discourse allows one to challenge institutionalized systems of domination. Reflections of my Lived Reality I speak from the perspective of a person who is colonized. As a result of my experiences, I have a keen knowledge of imperialism, and its effect is central to the decolonization process, which in turn is at the core of reclaiming my identity. Before this can be done, I need to know who I am. After listening to a lecture on race and representation by Hall (1997), I concluded that I was a cultural hybrid. That is, my identity is not fixed, but changes depending on where I am. As Hall asserts, cultural identity comes 273 E. Neegan from somewhere and has a history. However, cultural identity is not static and is subject to the continual play of history, power, and culture. Similarly, TwoTrees (1993) describes herself: â€Å"I see myself as a multi-dimensional: faceted being, one facet being woman, one artist, one African American, one Native American. To speak of any one facet more than another dulls the beauty of the whole thing reflecting light† (p. 14). I remember when I was a youngster staring at myself in the mirror and asking myself the question â€Å"Who are you?† Years later, I imagineShow MoreRelatedThe Theory Of Language As A Social Activity990 Words   |  4 PagesMy proposed study is embedded in the theory of language as a social activity. In this theory, Hall refers of what he calls as the ‘representation’ to be referred as a process of constructing reality. According to Hall, things such as words and images do not carry meaning they symbolize. The meanings are constructed by their ‘representation’ in language through concepts and signs. A major principle of Hall’s theory is that meanings are not static. Instead, they are continuously produced and exchangedRead MoreResponse Paper Intercultural communication986 Words   |  4 Pagesthink more deeply about this concept, about my cultural identity and positionality. 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