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Melungeon Portraits: Lived Experience and Identity

Stachowicz, Tamara L
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1382444721

Abstract Details

2013, Ph.D., Antioch University, Leadership and Change.
The desire to claim an ethnicity may be in response to an institutional and systemic political movement towards multiculturalism where ethnic difference is something to be recognized and celebrated (Jimenez, 2010; Tatum, 1997). Those who were a member of a dominant or advantaged group took that element of their identity for granted (Tatum, 1997). Identity work has included reflections and congruence between how individuals see themselves and how they perceive others to see them, including Optimal Distinctiveness Theory where one determines the optimal amount of individual distinctiveness needed to feel a healthy group and personal identity (Brewer, 2012). When most of the people one is surrounded by can verify and support an accepted identity construction, the process is less complicated, and attention is not drawn to the differences because there are very few, if any. As the dominant culture becomes increasingly bombarded with the celebratory aspects of an ethnic identity, it is likely that one will begin searching for one's own (Jimenez, 2010; Tatum, 1997). This study will present portraits of individuals who are considering an ethnic identity as they are searching for belonging and inclusion from the group with which they desire to identify. In short, through the use of portraiture, I intend to privilege the voices and experiences of several co-researchers as they describe their lives, explain whether or not they have accepted or rejected a Melungeon identity, how they came to that decision, and what it means in their lived experience. This dissertation is accompanied by the author's MP4 video introduction, as well as 15 MP4 videos of the coresearchers who participated in this study (see the List of Supplemental Media Files). The electronic version of this Dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd
Carolyn Kenny, PhD (Committee Chair)
Lize Booysen, DBL (Committee Member)
Katherine Vande Brake, PhD (Committee Member)
Dara Culhane, PhD (Other)
261 p.
American Studies; Cognitive Psychology; Cultural Anthropology; Developmental Psychology; Epistemology; Ethnic Studies; Families and Family Life; Individual and Family Studies; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Psychology; Social Psychology; Social Research; Sociology
portraiture; phenomenology; identity; social identity; collective identity; ethnic identity; Appalachia; Melungeon; tri-racial; mountaineer; social movements; identity movement; social identity theory; leadership

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Stachowicz, T. L. (2013). Melungeon Portraits: Lived Experience and Identity [Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1382444721

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Stachowicz, Tamara. Melungeon Portraits: Lived Experience and Identity. 2013. Antioch University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1382444721.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Stachowicz, Tamara. "Melungeon Portraits: Lived Experience and Identity." Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1382444721

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

antioch1382444721
2,268
© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Antioch University and OhioLINK.