1-028 - Globalization and Selves: Adolescent Identities and Imagined Futures in a Diverse World

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Globalization has been a topic of study for most social science disciplines for two decades. Focusing on the structure and content of globalization, economists, geographers, sociologists, and anthropologists have contributed immensely to our understanding of the macro-level process of globalization. Although developmental psychologists have been slower to discuss the micro-level impact of globalization, recent theoretical work has made the case for its profound impact on adolescent identity development (e.g., Arnett, 2002; Hermans & Dimaggio, 2007; Jensen, 2003; Jensen et al., 2011). This symposium aims to shed light on adolescent identity, conceptions of self, and imagined futures in an era of globalization and transnationalism.

Addressing adolescent navigations of multiple cultures as they construct their identities, the papers in this symposium present timely theory and empirical research on globalization and adolescence. Conceptual in nature, the first paper provides a focused discussion on the study of adolescent selves in a global world, and calls for social science research from a cultural-developmental vantage point. The second paper focuses on the influence of globalization on rural and urban Armenian adolescents’ conceptions of self and future self. The third paper presents case study data on the ways in which Korean adolescents born in transnational marriage families use globalization to construct their identities. Each paper highlights the intersection of culture and self in contexts of globalization, and the two empirical papers heed the call of the conceptual paper to examine multiple developmental pathways of adolescent identity. The discussant is an expert on youth, identity, and culture.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chair

• Jessica McKenzie, California State University, Fresno

Discussant

• Marcela Raffaelli, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Individual Presentations

• Self and Social Science in a Global World - Presenting Author: Lene Arnett Jensen, Clark University

• The Influence of Globalization on Adolescent Conceptions of Self and Future Self in Rural and Urban Armenia - Presenting Author: Carol S Huntsinger, Northern Illinois University; Tatevik Shaboyan, Yerevan State University, Armenia

• Ways of Living a Context of Globalization: The Case of South Korean Minority Adolescents’ Identity Construction - Presenting Author: Jaran Shin, University of Massachusetts, Boston