Capturing Identity: mapping 1.5 and 2nd generation Central Americans' travel experiences

• In Event: 41061 - Section on Latina/o Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 6: Latinx Cultural Identity and Representation in Society

Abstract

Research has established that transnational ties and understandings of race/ethnicity are critical sources of knowledge that inform people’s identity formation. However, this does not mean every immigrant or child of immigrants can build transnational ties. Some are unable to travel due to legal or financial reasons. Limited scholarship has identified traveling as a unique lens through which to study identity formation and maintenance for children of immigrants. To capture some of the processes in which identity formation and maintenance unfold in response to structural forces, I focus on traveling to Central America for 1.5- and 2-generation young adults for the first time or after a long period. This study highlights the drawing, shifting, and challenges of the identity maintenance process that 1.5- and 2-generation Central American young adults may navigate before and after traveling. Utilizing a community ethnographic approach, 11 participants, 6 U.S. Citizens and 5 DACA recipients engage in reflective writing on their identity formation pre-, during, and post-travel. Additionally, they participate in pre-and post-interviews and platicas amongst themselves to map out how travel has challenged or strengthened their identity maintenance. This will be among the first emerging studies encapsulating Central Americans' travel experience, identity formation process and maintenance, and accounting for legal status. I fill a gap in Central American literature by tracing the role of U.S. immigration laws in shaping the identity formation process for Central Americans in the U.S. as they travel.

Author

• Jenniffer Cecilia Perez Lopez, University of California-Irvine