Having analysed the transnationality, as a part of my project plan, I realised how crucial they are in terms of personal identity and identity of his/her family. But I have picked that topic because I`m fascinated by observing how the transforming world affects the family. The ongoing social changes linked with the technological revolution have undermined the existing social cohesion. Our societies are becoming more complex organisms. The number of people and the extent and pace of interaction between them have increased significantly. I wrote my assignment in the context of families that live as so-called transnational families. I have tried to understand the idea and compare the theories related to the above-mentioned issue. In my main written work, I described transnational families from the perspective of Kwame Anthony Appiah's theory of identity. And by Thomas Faist, and his theory of transnational migration. During my studies, I became acquainted with several other theories, So I wondered which other theories could be used as a supplement to my work, or which others I could use if I had written this section from the beginning. I decided to supplement and support the whole idea with the theories of Emile Durkheim and Benedict Anderson.
Durkheim (Durkheim, 2005) believed that increasing individualization was a new phenomenon, related to the development of modern society. It should be remembered at this point however, that Durkheim was primarily describing French society at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which was undergoing radical social changes. He sought to understand how individuals could function in a collective order while maintaining their individuality and freedom. He also believed that human societies are complex systems of individuals, material objects, symbols, values, patterns, and other components that form integrated wholes. The existence and functioning of this integrated whole, which is society, depends on certain forces and factors that make it internally coherent. The main cause of the abnormalities, according to Durkheim, was the lack of social integration and regulation. Because he believed that stability and social integration could not arise spontaneously because the singular efforts of individuals were not sufficient in achieving the goals within the framework of economic exchange. Top-down changes are needed for this. (YaleCourses, 2012)
Another theory that got me into perspective was Benedict Anderson's theory of nationalism. (Anderson, Imagined Communities, 2016) I found his book Imagined Communities very interesting. In his book, Anderson explains where the belief that the nation is the most important form of socialization comes from, and how national identity has become the most important component of an individual's identity. How it was combined with the command to put national solidarity above all other ties and obligations, and everything that is national over what is foreign or cosmopolitan. Both theories made me look at the whole process of adaptation of an emigrant in the country to which he decided to move. (Anderson, Benedict Anderson About Nationalism (In mijn vaders huis, 1994), 1994)
The process of an emigrant's entry into a new society is long, difficult and proceeds at different paces. There are two main types of it, the assimilation process, and the integration process. Because an emigrant wants to enter a new society as quickly and comprehensively as possible, and at the same time retains his or her existing inbred and social identity. He is not able to get rid of them in a short time, even if he wanted to. On the other hand, the host State, and its citizens - I am thinking here of the social and state institutions - want to include the emigrant as soon as possible. They also make a lot of efforts to make him speak their language, know their history, respect their rights, norms, and patterns of behaviour. Very important in this context is the family, which, despite many global changes, is still the basic environment of human life. Relationships in families that have experienced migration seems to be beyond territorial, which means that they are created, or defined and tightened, not so much in place but more in space. It is a dynamic process in which migrants living in at least two countries create and maintain diverse contacts.
Exploring them, I have noticed that they create a sense of community and care for the common good, maintaining economic, social, and emotional ties, despite living in different countries.
This reflection assignment made me to start wondering and questioning what identity is. Where is it come from? Each of us born in our native country does not have to ask ourselves this question because we know perfectly well our national history and consciousness, language, awareness of origin, blood ties, attitude to cultural heritage, territory, and national character. Meanwhile, for children born and raised in two worlds at the same time - it is not so obvious. When emigrating, almost everyone has the prospect of improving their standard of living. In the meantime, the child of emigrants will not appreciate the improvement in his life because the improvement does not affect him. This child will be more likely to see the unpleasant sides of being the immigrant child: the language awkwardness of the parents, their low social status, and perhaps even poverty - compared to their classmates.
The preparation for the written assignments, as well as the whole semester, were very much enriched with many theories in the field of national identity and cultural diversity, which helped me to understand and trace the Polish emigration in terms of the above-mentioned theories. I've concluded that Polish national identity is specific. Poles as a nation had to fight for their independence and freedom. There are many examples of independence traditions. These traditions are associated with the national uprisings of the nineteenth century. Poles, like hardly any other European nation, deprived of their own state for over a hundred years and fighting heroically for it, could well realize the price to be paid for the lack of independence. They also raised national freedom to the highest values.
To sum up, Polish emigrants are clearly aware of the ethno-cultural group they belong to and the society in which they live. They have a homeland from which they came and to which they are still connected. They also have a society and a state in which they have settled, and which can become a homeland. They are trying to connect their Polish homeland with the new society-state, which is not easy. So, they live in two worlds, so to speak.
References
Anderson, B. (1994). Benedict Anderson About Nationalism (In mijn vaders huis, 1994). (A. Ramdas, Interviewer)
Anderson, B. (2016). Imagined Communities. New York: Verso; Revised edition.
Durkheim, É. (2005). Suicide. London: Routledge;.
YaleCourses. (2012). Durkheim and Types of Social Solidarity. Retrieved from youtube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG_gQ8vJ4-E
Comments