Tuesday, January 29, 2008
1.5 generation - pondering time travel...
So I asked a friend of mine who is Korean what this 1.5 generation means.
Basically it is newcomers that are the 1.5. There is the first generation who are immigrants and have lived in a new country for an extended period (approximately 3yr+) and the second who are born into the new country.
The 1.5 are those who are very recent; immigrants who have resided in the new country for a very short period (approximately 3yr-).
So they are people who still are in a very liminal/transitional space (not quite here, not quite there).
Just a thought...
I think this is very relevant to what Prof. K. was saying in terms of time travel - often for new immigrants that are coming to a new country (but not always as i will try to stray away from gross generalizations) come to said country (lets use Canada as the example) for more opportunity - Think development discourse, which divides the worlds into developed (or 1st world) and developing (third world). The numbering is not arbitrary - it's like this race to development (moving as Kalmar said at a rate of tech advancement that is too quick) with the 1st as the leaders and the rest trailing behind (or like K. said in a time warp). The new immigrants are moving to the developed world to seek more "opportunity" - to become more like the developed (but this is oversimplification as w/ globalization there is a two way feedback).
So i guess what i am asking is - Can new immigrants been seen as time travelers (in the temporal and spatial sense)??
Basically it is newcomers that are the 1.5. There is the first generation who are immigrants and have lived in a new country for an extended period (approximately 3yr+) and the second who are born into the new country.
The 1.5 are those who are very recent; immigrants who have resided in the new country for a very short period (approximately 3yr-).
So they are people who still are in a very liminal/transitional space (not quite here, not quite there).
Just a thought...
I think this is very relevant to what Prof. K. was saying in terms of time travel - often for new immigrants that are coming to a new country (but not always as i will try to stray away from gross generalizations) come to said country (lets use Canada as the example) for more opportunity - Think development discourse, which divides the worlds into developed (or 1st world) and developing (third world). The numbering is not arbitrary - it's like this race to development (moving as Kalmar said at a rate of tech advancement that is too quick) with the 1st as the leaders and the rest trailing behind (or like K. said in a time warp). The new immigrants are moving to the developed world to seek more "opportunity" - to become more like the developed (but this is oversimplification as w/ globalization there is a two way feedback).
So i guess what i am asking is - Can new immigrants been seen as time travelers (in the temporal and spatial sense)??
# posted by acdbrn @ 1:18 PM 
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what is also interesting - can immigrants be seen as time travelers by WHOM? Because while Canadians think that they accept people from "developing" countries, immigrants might see it quite differently. A person coming from Beijing (or Moscow) might find Toronto rather "undeveloped" and "uncultured" and generally village - like.
Sorry, i wasn't clear with the definition of 1.5 generation, because I thought 1.5 generation immigrants refers to those who migrated to a new country i.e at a very young age to early teens, the experience of migration for someone is 10 years old compared to someone who is 30 years old would be very different. Their assimilation to the mainstream is in between those of 2nd generation and 1st generation.
Even though Canada may be one of the most develop countries in the world, I was rather shock to find the large emphasis on technology in consumer cultural in China. I was embarrass to take out my cell phone, because everyone had more high tech or sophisticated ones.
Many of my international friends from China think Toronto as village like, because the night life, entertainment, and the density of the population is incomparable to China
Even though Canada may be one of the most develop countries in the world, I was rather shock to find the large emphasis on technology in consumer cultural in China. I was embarrass to take out my cell phone, because everyone had more high tech or sophisticated ones.
Many of my international friends from China think Toronto as village like, because the night life, entertainment, and the density of the population is incomparable to China
I think tourism is similar to the idea of immigrants as time travelers. We usually travel to place in order to experience something different. Whether it's to be close to nature or to relax and experience a slower pace, we often seek out places that are primitive and/or exotic.
Immigration and travel both highlight the perceptions people perceive as (un)developped and (un)cultured.
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Immigration and travel both highlight the perceptions people perceive as (un)developped and (un)cultured.
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