Naslov
Narrating the migrant experience

Autori
Podboj, Martina

Izvornik
Transcending Connections (University of Alberta MLCS Graduate Student Conference)

Vrsta, podvrsta
Ostale vrste radova, ostalo

Godina
2018

Ključne riječi
narrative analysis, migration, language and identity

Sažetak
Migration is a complex experience during which individuals, for various reasons, must replace familiar social, cultural, and linguistic contexts with new, unfamiliar ones. This process affects all aspects of the self, which makes migrant identities such a compelling object of inquiry. But despite the profound effect it has on the individual, in public discourse migration is usually constructed as a collective, negative, and unwanted phenomenon. Simultaneously, migrants are constructed as non-agentive, depersonalized, as a threat, and as the ‘Other’ (Van Leeuwen, 2008 ; Krzyżanowski and Wodak, 2008 ; Wodak 2013). However, recent years have seen a proliferation of research on personal narratives told by migrants and more authors are employing analysis of narrative discourse in order to illuminate the complexities of individual aspects of the migrant experience (De Fina, 2003 ; Baynham and De Fina, 2005, 2017 ; De Fina and King, 2011 ; Relaño Pastor, 2014 ; De Fina and Tseng, 2017). This is due to the nature of narrative, which is recognized as a ubiquitous discourse genre that fulfills many different functions, such as understanding and sharing life experiences and negotiating identities. Furthermore, as above mentioned authors claim, narratives reflect and shape social realities and relationships, thus migrant narratives can give insight into wider social practices and ideologies present in transnational communities. The aim of this presentation is to question dominant racist and nationalist discourses on migration and present narrative analysis as a fruitful method for gaining a better understanding of migration through empowering migrant voices and challenging over-generalizations and stereotypes.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Interdisciplinarne društvene znanosti, Filologija, Interdisciplinarne humanističke znanosti

POVEZANOST RADA