CERP Second Draft

Sophia Gillmer

Honors 384 C

CERP Second Draft

Abstract:

The theme of my project revolves around how youth and who have migrated to Germany with their family, identify themselves as they become more independent individuals. Maneuvering through a new country with a culture that is completely new is not easy. I want to identify if students who are becoming more independent from their parents and original culture, and adopting a new culture can actually articulate their identity, and how their ability to articulate their identity helps or hurts the when maneuvering through the two or more cultures. Through interviews and observations of dances and food, I was able to make inferences on the ways in which youth and young adults maintain their own culture, as well as adapt to the environment that they are new to, and highly encouraged to assimilate into. Being a bi-racial woman going in with expectations of what I planned to see, I had to take into account the differences that culture and race bring to a new community, especially when people are not leaving their country in hopes of finding a new life somewhere else. The age group I focus on is youth and young adults because from my experience this is the time period when people start branching away from their parent’s beliefs and coming up with their own perspective and identity based on important aspects of life. 

Background:

This topic interests me personally because while I am not bicultural, I am biracial, and I am interested how people my age starts to challenge the identity their parents taught them, while also moving through a culture and country completely different from the one they grew up in. Lots of research and questions revolve around how adults have migrated and integrated from one country to another, and their experience with the process, but very little goes into depth about young people’s experience becoming more independent from those who helped them create their original identity. There is a point when moving through the world becomes less of what your parents taught you, and instead reflects on the experiences encountered on a daily basis. After doing much reading for this class in order to understand how migrants assimilate into new countries, Age of Migration pointed out that many people coming into a new country experience discrimination partially because people believe “Citizenship: cultural homogeneity is the nationalist ideal” (Castles 43). Countries that accept migrants and refugees want people to assimilate into their culture in order to attain a cultural homogeneity that has built the specific country. That concept is further enforced in most naturalization processes in different countries. In Germany, cultural homogeneity is not the exact wording on the naturalization website, but in order to acquire German citizenship by naturalization, integration into the culture is a section of the citizenship test. “The knowledge of the legal and social order and living conditions in Germany” is the main focus of the naturalization test, and after attempting to decipher some of the German while trying to take the practice test, I found that the second question asked about costumes for certain holidays, something people involved in the German culture would have to know.

            Coming to a new country, most people do not choose to go because they are dying to be apart of the German culture, but rather because they want to escape from the war or economic oppression they are facing in their home country. Even assuming migrants want to take on these cultures shows that the government and community do not have the person’s best interest in mind. Encouraging people to ignore their culture and assimilate into another one forces people to forget the identity that they grew up with which could have negative effects on people’s self image who will no longer appreciate their heritages. Interestingly enough, according to the NPR article by Sylvia Poggioli, in Germany, “national identity [is] still strictly linked to ethnicity.” This is troublesome for many reasons. The nonwhite Germans have to overcome discrimination, and the migrants who come into the country are forced to ignore their culture and become one of millions instead of an individualized human being. This leads to issues of identity and whose identity young migrants decide to take on when they are most vulnerable to outside influences, and value acceptance by their peers. Age of Migration mentions “Multicultural social policies are based on the idea that immigrants do need special services that address their special needs with regard to education, language learning, and housing” (Castles 234). But who is to decide the culture that Germany works with or if multiple cultures should be represented in the school systems. The needs of students cannot be met unless the government and the schools take into consideration how bicultural youth identify themselves and their culture.

            School is the place where students not only receive an education, but also where students learn about culture and identity from their peers without their parent’s interference. I know from my personal experience, being in college, I have learned so much more about what it means to be biracial because of the interactions I have with my peers and the information I learn in my classes, even though my parents did participate in helping to form my identity. Being on my own changed much of what I thought because I gained more insight into other ways of living and different mindsets about race that are even more embodied when moving to a new area. The difference between me and the refugee and migrant youth in Germany is that they have to navigate a completely different culture that wants them to assimilate to their standards. How do people choose then to maneuver through an area with people their age who come from different countries in a country who wants them to assimilate in order to give them equal rights, and be recognized as not only a citizen, but also a human being.

            Age of Migration also mentions parents concerns with migrating to a new country, especially if they do not want to assimilate in a way the government wants them to. The chapter states, “People start to see their life perspectives in the new country. This process is especially linked to the situation of migrants’ children… it becomes more and more difficult for the parents to return to their homelands” (Castles 28). What is interesting about this point is that parents notice their children assimilate to the area with greater ease, making it difficult for the family to leave the country when they want to either move on or go back to their home country. I can imagine the difficulty for parents to want their children to stick to the culture and identity with what they find important, but like I mentioned before, teens and young adults, when trying to decipher who they are, find their identity from the many interactions they have with their family, but also from what they see in the media, and what they learn from interactions with their peers. The chapter highlights the parent’s opinions on their children’s assimilation, but it does not consider how or why the children decide to assimilate in this way. An article about refugee youth states that “the feeling of belonging and of finding one’s place in society is essential for every human being”, but there are also different reasons identity is so hard to uncover while navigating through the world with more than one culture.

            Understanding youth and young adult’s perception of their identity as a bicultural person sheds light on why and how migrants and refugees maneuver through a new country, and maybe even why citizens of the destination country have certain reactions to people coming into the community. I think because of the little information we have on youth maneuvering through two cultures, we see biases, prejudices, and discrimination because we simply do not understand. I also believe trying to understand will give these people, whose voices and opinions are kept in the shadows, the chance to achieve their goals because they will not be held back by feelings of fear and alienation.

            Identity is an important factor in understanding the different beliefs and actions people make in their day to day lives. It will also help to make people feel comfortable in their skin and accepting of their identity because no longer will citizens of host countries fear what they do not know. We live in a globalized world, and while people are moving through it, it is important to make sure everyone has basic human rights, but also do not have to compromise their identity to fit into a new culture and have a fair shot at a good life.

Question:

How do youth who have migrated to a knew country identify themselves in a new country after migrating from their home country with their families?  (I just realized this could be different for other cultures. Are people from different countries who are trying to seek refuge, or migrate for other reasons, necessarily as dependent on their parents or guardians as we are in American culture?) Children gaining independence probably identify with their home country, but where does the information that they learned from their peers in the new country resonate with them and how do they identify now being bicultural? I also want to know at what extent these youth and young adults can express their identity to others who want to know. I will examine this by participating in the group events where the community comes together and cooks and dances. Depending on the dances, the music, and the food these people eat can determine which culture they want to identify with, or how they maneuver through a new country as a bicultural person.

Cultural Sensitivity:

As I am typing out this proposal, I realize that a lot of my assumptions are based on my bias being a biracial woman. I come from a completely different background than all of the people I will be working with, so I have to be sure I do not project what I want onto them, and instead, make sure I listen to their stories with an open mind, and accept the answers even if it is not what I expect. Obviously, we have been talking about this throughout the quarter, but I think this is definitely important when I have tried to hypothesize people’s perceptions of their identity.

Methods:

I plan to obtain information for my paper through interviews with people that are written or recorded. I plan to choose the one people feel more comfortable with and which one best helps me retain information I find. I will also include an observational study, but the issue with that is I would just have information from what I see, and not what other people experience. Watching people dance and interact with the people in the community will show whether they decide to stick to their own culture or instead take on pieces of German culture as well. I am also interested in looking at the Germans who participate in these events and how they feel about bicultural members that are apart of the organization because they ultimately help influence these people’s beliefs, or can express their confusion or understanding of other people’s actions. I have to consider the language barrier though, that might prevent some opinions and experiences from being documented correctly.

References:

Castles, Stephen, Hein De Haas, and Mark J. Miller. The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World. New York, NY: Guilford, 2014. Print.

"Einbürgerung." Bundesministerium Des Innern. Ministry of the Interior, 2017. Web. 02 June 2017.

Görlach, Alexander. "Opinion | Why Islam Gets Second-Class Status in Germany." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2016. Web. 02 June 2017.

Majed, David. "Young Refugees Struggle to Define Their Identities in Germany." D+C. Engagement Global, 5 Nov. 2014. Web. 02 June 2017.

Poggioli, Sylvia. "German Minorities Still Fight To Be Seen, Heard." NPR. NPR, 12 Jan. 2009. Web. 02 June 2017.

Rapti, Efi. "The Two Sides of Refugees’ Education in Greece." European Youth Voice. Aktuelles Forum, 25 Nov. 2016. Web. 02 June 2017.