Negotiating 'Nous': Competing Host National Identities among Second Generation Immigrants in Quebec

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
Negotiating 'Nous': Competing Host National Identities among Second Generation Immigrants in Quebec
Abstract
The author examines questions of long-term immigrant integration and competing national identities, with respect to second generation immigrants in the context of minority nationalism. More specifically, the author explores how second generation immigrants, born and raised in such a context, negotiate the various versions of national identity with which they are presented. In order to explore this negotiation process, the author provides a within-case comparison based on interviews with four different groups of second generation immigrants in Quebec. Participants were 18 to 35 years of age and the targeted groups were distinguished by predominant racial category and official language preference: Haitians and Vietnamese representing a preference for French, and Anglo-Caribbeans and Filipinos preferring English. The author explores the competing messages regarding the boundaries around Québécois and Canadian identity, but also the potential competition between these two national identities. These identities are interpreted by second generation immigrants as bounded by a mix between civic and ethnic criteria from a variety of sources, including everyday interactions, the media, and policies and political discourse. Second generation immigrant perspectives on their experiences with discrimination and racism are also discussed.
Type
PhD dissertation
University
McGill University
Place
Montreal
Date
2015
# of Pages
408p.
Language
en
URL
Citation
Cheung, Leslie Lian. “Negotiating ‘Nous’: Competing Host National Identities among Second Generation Immigrants in Quebec.” PhD dissertation, McGill University, 2015. https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/sn00b1664.
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