Identity Construction of Chinese Immigrants: Exploring the Processes of Identity Construction Among Chinese Immigrant Parents and Young Adults in Montreal

The author's qualitative inquiry describes and analyzes the contrasts and interrelationships among the pathways through which Chinese immigrant parents and immigrant young adults construct their identities in a context of Quebec's Interculturalism Policy. In order to understand the lived experiences of the Chinese immigrants from their perspectives, the author conducted fifteen in-depth, face-to-face individual interviews with both the parents and young adults from five Chinese immigrant families living in Montreal. The author's inquiry aimed to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics and complexity of identity construction. The results from the author's interviews reveal the multiple, fluid, and malleable nature of identity. Through their individualized definitions of the meanings of "being Chinese" and "being Canadian," participants indicated the coexistence of their Chinese and Canadian identities. The author contends that thhe participants demonstrate that their identities are constructed and reconstructed through the dialectical interplay among self, others, and the socio-cultural contexts that they negotiate. The author found that the multiple social identifications that participants claim are closely intertwined with each other during the process of their identity constructions. The author believes that this inquiry has implications for policymakers and educators who can take an active role in the fostering of hybrid identities, which serve to challenge and problematize the hegemonic definition of a "Chinese-Canadian" identity. The author argues that hybrid identities open up the possibility of dismantling old cultural boundaries, and reinventing new shared cultural spaces, which are of great significance in today's increasingly globalized world.

Master's Thesis

McGill University

Montreal

2016

209p.

en