This paper presentation contains a screening of a short video produced by the researcher and seeks to delineate counter-knowledge and voices of immigrants of color living in Canada. Since the migratory movement of people has increased due to various disasters, both natural and man-made, it is increasingly important to pay attention to the complex identity (trans)formation of transnational citizens, which is not simply classified according to their race, ethnicity, and birthplace (Yuval-Davis et al., 2005). What stories are told by immigrants as transnational citizens whose identities are continuously shifting between the West/destination and the non-West/origin? This paper is based on interviews and participant observation conducted in Ottawa, Canada and introduces life stories of Cambodian people relocated there. What becomes clear from their reflections on living in the diaspora is how Cambodian residents in Canada negotiate their identities and perform their transnational citizenship; they are transnational citizens constantly transgressing national, cultural, and language borders. Applying the concept of “subaltern counterpublics” proposed by Fraser (1992), I suggest that from a combination of the video and the paper emerges a counterpublic space. Fraser (1992) indicates that such counterpublics are “… parallel discursive arenas where members of subordinated social groups invent and circulate counterdiscourses to formulate oppositional interpretations of their identities, interests, and needs” (p. 123). Hence, by depicting her/his-story, home, traveling, and dwelling of transnational citizens, this study contributes to decolonizing the normative discourse sustaining essentialization and dichotomization and hindering diversity and inclusion.

Authors:
Hiroko Hara, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Hiroko Hara is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at Prefectural University of Kumamoto in Japan

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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