Between shores : transnational subjects and visual & material culture : selected case studies : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Visual and Material Culture Studies at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
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Date
2013
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Massey University
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Abstract
This thesis explores relationships between material culture and transnational
individuals. It discusses how visual and material objects function in the lives of
transnational students in helping them adapt to their adopted country and new
environment. It highlights what objects can tell us about the impact of the physical
process of migration, how they represent people who move across different
cultures, and how they relate to the construction of identity and memory. Chapter
One ‘Transnationalism and Diaspora’ explicates different transnational typologies,
and the different aspects and challenges transnational individuals experience. The
following chapter, ‘Material Culture and Transnational Subjects’, represents the
study of material culture, how social meaning in objects change across cultures,
and the acculturation experience. Finally, three case studies are presented to
illustrate how transnational individuals use objects as symbols, memories, and
channels to reflect their personal experiences. These case studies demonstrate
how objects affect individual psychology. In the summary, I conclude that objects
play a particularly important role in the shaping of transnational lives and that
interactions between the transnational subject and everyday objects—efforts to
sustain previous interactions by continuing to use, make and treasure objects from
another place—shape experience across cultural places.
Description
Video (interview) is with the vault copy of this thesis.
Keywords
Material culture, Transnationals, Transnational identity, Diaspora, Personal belongings, Cultural objects