Date of Award

1-1-2014

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Organizational Unit

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences

First Advisor

Margaret Thompson, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Lynn Schofield Clark

Third Advisor

Bonnie Clark

Fourth Advisor

Devin Joshi

Fifth Advisor

Christine Sheikh

Keywords

Japanese internment, Communication Theory of Identity, CTI, Critical-cultural hybridity, Identity gaps

Abstract

This research explores the nature of Japanese American cultural identity through an examination of the historical contexts of WWII, internment, and the 3/11 disasters in Japan. Interview data was analyzed using both interpretive and critical paradigms. I then utilized the Communication Theory of Identity (CTI), the corresponding concept of identity gaps, and critical-cultural hybridity. It was found that Japanese Americans construct, enact, and relate to their identities in markedly different ways despite belonging to the same cultural group. In turn, I am proposing further revision to CTI's communal frame to exemplify the shared and contested elements of a collective. This research also suggests that the structural context of internment has impacted Japanese Americans even though they may not perceive much of an impact on their own identity conceptions. Moreover, this study argues that internment has profoundly shaped the lives of Japanese Americans, which future research can continue to explore.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Carrie L. Miller

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

218 p.

Discipline

Communication, Asian American studies, Mass communication

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