Abstract
In spite of a number of theoretical discussions on the concept of citizenship and belonging, empirical studies examining how various sections of the population experience citizenship are lacking (Nordberg, 2006). Exploration of the everyday experience of citizenship becomes even more important in the Canadian context, given the high levels of immigration and range of ethnocultural diversity. This study presents the findings of experiences of naturalized South Asian and Chinese Canadian women – Canada’s two largest racialized groups – living in the Greater Toronto Area. The study seeks to address the gap in the literature by exploring the following questions: what does citizenship mean to South Asian and Chinese Canadian women? This paper discusses the findings of a multi-year, collaborative, mixed-methods study by researchers. The theoretical orientation of the study is based on Chastenay et al. (2004)’s categories of citizenship: identity, equality of participation, and civic engagement. Identity was conceptualized as both cultural and civic; equality as the inclusion of diversity in the representation of collective identities; engagement was conceptualized as either current or future involvement in community and civic organizations The study’s findings reveal three critical ways in which naturalized South-Asian and Chinese women experience Canadian citizenship. Participants spoke about citizenship as an instrumental tool with particular reference to privileges that accompany the Canadian passport; how the naturalization process had impacted their sense of belonging and identity; and the barriers to successful integration into mainstream Canadian society despite the acquisition of citizenship.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Citizenship, Identity and belonging
