Striped Zebra: The Immigrant
Psyche is a
presentation on the forthcoming research volume on the
subject of migration. The metaphor of Striped Zebra
postulates that - upon migration - an immigrant’s mind
assumes a “dyadic” structure, in which two parallel streams
of thought run side by side. One of these, called the “Seed”
values is those set of values that the immigrant brings
along from the native culture and which are resistant to
change. The second termed the “Feed” values is those values
that the immigrant is eager and willing to assimilate from
the society he or she settles in (called the “host”
society). The presentation will spell out the principal
components of both the Seed and Feed value systems. It would
then go on to suggest that after a long sojourn in the host
land, the Striped Zebra is open to the possibility of
turning into the “Spotted Leopard.”
- The migration
phenomenom - global and ever-burgeoning
-
Two sets of values:
Seed and Feed
- Ethnic chasms -
responses thereto
- Why people hold on to
traditions
- Emotional anchor
- Bonding with
co-ethnics abroad
- Bonding with
folks at home
- Continuity with
their past
- Adolescence: identity
formation
- Seed values
- Male authority
- Parental
authority: marriage within the fold
- Extended family
- Respect for the
elders
- First language
maintenance
- Native cuisines,
attires
- Ethnic
celebrations
- Ethnic media
- Feed values
- The "American
Dream"
- Education
- Individual rights
- Gender Equality
- Kids' rights
- Value of time
- Spotted Leopard
- One Word
