Document Type
Open Access Capstone
Publication Date
2007
Abstract
Once upon a time, there was a young man from the country of Federation. In this era of postmodernism, Paul St. John Frisoli held fragmented and multiple identities that were at times complimentary and contradictory. He believed that whether he was angry, happy, frustrated, or satisfied that emotions offered clues to these identities. One day, Paul left for the islands of Banga Sharini where he worked on the WEZAP radio project that was funded by the Federation Agency for International Development (FAID). During his stay, he developed new Consultant and Foreign Identity selves while leaving his “home” identities of the Student, Family, and Secret Gay Partner behind. This adventure, told from an autoethnographic approach, examined his daily dairies and letters written to those in the Federation in order to highlight the validity of bridging personal and professional accounts of research in academic inquiry. Paul used the lenses of Cultural Studies to examine how international development work impacted his various fragmented identities. Throughout this self-discovery process, he continuously examined the emotions displayed during the construction his “away” identities while concurrently observing the interaction of these new selves with his “home” identities. What he discovered was a stretching effect on his “home” and “away” identities caused by power, agency, and emotions.
Pages
1-75
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Disability and Equity in Education Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons