Anthropology of Transnationalism

Group 4 Synthesis Laura (Nicole), Elizabeth, Megan

• How does transnationalism differ from assimilation theories you learned in the last week? Reflect on what it means for children to keep flexible identities as they enter schools in different countries. 

According to Louie, (2006), transnationalism refers to “immigrants maintaining connections to their country of origin and using a dual frame of reference to evaluate their experiences and outcomes in the country in which they have settled.” This is different from assimilation, which in the previous module was described by Greenman as the “process through which immigrants gradually shed the cultures and customs of their home countries and adopted the language, expressive habits, and eventually the spatial distribution and socioeconomic characteristics of ‘mainstream’ Americans – usually defined as white middle class Protestants” (Gordon, 1964, as cited in Greenman, 2011, p. 32). To break that down, transnationalism is different from assimilation because rather than assuming or even insisting that a person fully takes on the culture and language of the receiving country as in assimilation, it is the ideology that a person can maintain important aspects of the sending country while adopting aspects from the receiving country. The theory of transnationalism takes a broader perspective and considers a more complex and symbiotic look at cultural identity and family context.  However, both theories of transnationalism and assimilation highlight the many challenges immigrants face in moving to and settling in their new homes.

For children attending schools in different countries, it is important to have flexible identities as it allows those students to not only adapt to their school’s surroundings and expectations, but it may provide them the opportunity to use what they know from their own backgrounds to inform their learning. Children who are able to maintain a transnational identity can compare who they are in one school/place to who they are in another. However, in thinking about flexible identities, it seems that requiring a student to have a flexible identity highlights how schools may not be changing to support their students but are having students change to excel at the school. If schools are going to “nurture a growing number of complex skills, competencies, and sensibilities in students to equip them to engage in the globally linked economies and societies of our time,” then schools have to make sure they are flexible in working with students from all over the world. Schools and communities cannot operate in a monolithic society, and in a world that is continuously more interconnected, it is harmful to assume that people must assimilate to a single culture or language. 

One school in New Orleans, Louisiana has embraced the ideology of transnationalism, creating a newcomer academy that offers a year of intense immersion while also offering a significant amount of language support in Spanish. Las Sierras Academy currently works with 40 newcomers in high school in the New Orleans area; however it is assumed that there are currently over 700 newcomers in the area. This program welcomes students from Latin America and the culture, traditions and languages they already speak add value to the school, and it essentially functions similar to the dual language immersion schools (similar to the video on the blog) that are emerging across the country in elementary settings but is targeted for older students.

• What is the meaning behind the assumption that to assimilate is also to succeed? That assumption is not always the truth and can be problematic for teachers and educators in the global community.

Many people believe that assimilation leads to success for several reasons. They believe that not only understanding the dominant language and culture but fully operating in them will lead to greater success on standardized testing and give students a greater opportunity for post-secondary education and entrance into the job market. Also, the differences that students bring from other cultures are many times seen as a deficit rather than a wealth of knowledge and experience. To succeed, from this perspective, immigrants must assimilate, erase their original cultures, and adopt the culture of the new, receiving community.  This viewpoint does not honor the full dignity of the immigrant, and insists on a change in order to be accepted. Although the assumption that to assimilate is to succeed is not as widely held as it once was, there are a variety of ways in which our society functions that still require people to walk, talk, and look the part of what the dominant society sees as a successful person. Assimilation is to succeed is definitely a biased idea since no matter where you are, the dominant society that you are engaging with is going to see itself as having the most desirable qualities. For someone who wants to succeed in that society, it can be hard not to assimilate (at least to an extent) when that might be what is needed to achieve the goals one is aspiring toward. This is unfortunate, but it happens everyday. In America for example, learning English can be a big part of reaching success as it allows one to communicate using the dominant language, which may provide more opportunities compared to if one didn’t speak English. However despite all of this, it is important to keep in mind that everyone has a different idea of what success looks like. Educators should keep this in mind and encourage students to achieve whatever they set out to do

References

Greenman, E. (2011). Assimilation choices among immigrant families: Does school context matter?. International Migration Review, 45(1), 29-67.

Las Sierras Academy. G.W. Carver High School. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://gwc.collegiateacademies.org/about/las-sierras-academy

Louie, V. (2006). Growing up ethnic in transnational worlds: Identities among second-generation Chinese and Dominicans. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, 13(3), 363-394.