寻找地方的意义:在澳洲华人的身份建构

Searching for a Sense of Place: Identity Negotiation of Chinese in Australia

中国出生的第一代移民是目前澳大利亚第三大海外出生移民群体,中国留学生也位列澳大利亚高校第一大海外学生群体。尽管海外华人的跨文化经历已经引起学界广泛关注,但有关这一群体(包括在澳洲出生的第二代移民)在宿主文化中如何建构自我的文化身份认同的研究还非常有限。本研究基于对23位澳洲华人的访谈,探寻在澳华人在多元文化环境中建构身份认同的过程及类型。研究发现,在澳华人的文化身份认同具有多样性,大致可以分为分离性中国认同、边缘性中国认同、融合性中澳认同、融入性澳洲认同与多向关联性认同等不同类型。这一研究结果支持社会建构主义的观点,即不同的文化身份认同是在与日常社会环境的交互过程中持续建构的。本研究的发现有助于深化对个体在多元文化环境中身份认同形成及再形成过程的理解,促进经济全球化背景下文化间、族裔间的理解沟通与友好共处。

China-born immigrants constitute the second largest subgroup within the foreign bom population in Australia, and China is ranked as one of the largest sources of international students to Australian higher education institutions. Whilst many studies examined intercultural experiences of Chinese across the world, there has been limited research on how they have reconstructed the image of the diaspora ＂self＂ in host societies. This article reports an interview study that explores twenty-three professional Chinese＇ negotiation of identity in multicultural environments in Australia. Findings reveal a wide range of identities as observed among the interview participants, namely separated Chinese identity, marginalized Chinese identity,integrated Chinese-Australian identity, assimilated Australian identity and multi-directionally- interconnected identities. These findings support social constructionists＇ position on identification; that is, different identifications are formed and reformed largely as responses to social interactions in daily life. The findings lead to in-depth understandings of identity （re）construction in multicultural contexts. This study contributes to mutual understandings and peaceful coexistence between cultural and ethnic groups in the globalised world.