Constructing My Cultural Identity
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 drawing on a Black feminist theoretical framework and anticolonial thought to inform this work.
Cet article présente une analyse critique et réfléchie de mon enfance en Jamaïque, où j’ai étudié à une école coloniale, et de ma transition vers l’école secondaire au Canada. Je me penche sur les éléments qui ont influencé mon identité culturelle/raciale comme personne d’ascendance africaine vivant dans la diaspora. Je pose des questions portant sur l’influence de l’éducation coloniale sur mon identité culturelle et ma façon de me voir. Ce travail repose sur le cadre théorique du féminisme noir, ainsi que sur la pensée anticoloniale.
Introduction
The purpose of this article is to examine the forces that have shaped my identity as a child of the African diaspora, first growing up in the Caribbean and then the encounter between my Jamaican culture and the Canadian cultural context. I attempt to address the following questions: How has my identity been formed? What parts of my life have been honored, and what parts are excluded and why? How does society view me versus my own definition of myself? And more important, how can I salvage and maintain my identity? I critically draw on the reality, dilemmas, and contradictions of life
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 drawing on a Black feminist theoretical framework and anticolonial thought to inform this work.
Cet article présente une analyse critique et réfléchie de mon enfance en Jamaïque, où j’ai étudié à une école coloniale, et de ma transition vers l’école secondaire au Canada. Je me penche sur les éléments qui ont influencé mon identité culturelle/raciale comme personne d’ascendance africaine vivant dans la diaspora. Je pose des questions portant sur l’influence de l’éducation coloniale sur mon identité culturelle et ma façon de me voir. Ce travail repose sur le cadre théorique du féminisme noir, ainsi que sur la pensée anticoloniale.
Introduction
The purpose of this article is to examine the forces that have shaped my identity as a child of the African diaspora, first growing up in the Caribbean and then the encounter between my Jamaican culture and the Canadian cultural context. I attempt to address the following questions: How has my identity been formed? What parts of my life have been honored, and what parts are excluded and why? How does society view me versus my own definition of myself? And more important, how can I salvage and maintain my identity? I critically draw on the reality, dilemmas, and contradictions of life
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