The Inside Assyria Discussion Forum #5

=> Chaldean-American College Students: Identity and Values

Chaldean-American College Students: Identity and Values
Posted by Jeffrey (Guest) - Thursday, January 1 2009, 8:33:23 (CET)
from 69.14.30.71 - d14-69-71-30.try.wideopenwest.com Commercial - Windows XP - Mozilla
Website:
Website title:

Chaldean-American College Students: Identity and Values
· John Brender, Wayne State University
· David Hermiz, Wayne State University
· Stephanie Karmo, Wayne State University

The authors explore how Chaldean-American undergraduates at one Michigan university described their identities amidst Chaldean and mainstream-American influences. To define Chaldean and mainstream-American identities, the authors focused on four contrasting values that emerged in their research: collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, religion, and masculinity.

Introduction

Many people recognize the name Chaldean as an ethnic group
in the Bible (Jer 50:10; Ezek 11:24) or as a distinct rite of the
Catholic church. To residents of Chicago, southern California,
and especially Michigan, Chaldeans are a commonly recognized
ethnic group. When informally surveyed, however, even Michigan
residents were largely uninformed about their Chaldean neighbors.
With over 100,000 ethnic Chaldeans residing in southeast
Michigan (Sengstock, 2005) and increasing immigration due to
the Iraq war, college professionals who understand the Chaldean
community may be poised to increase recruitment, retention, and
better serve Chaldean students on their campuses.

Some general information about Chaldeans should be offered.
First, Chaldeans, in spite of their Iraqi origin, generally consider
themselves ethnically Assyrian or Chaldean, distinct from their
Arab neighbors. Their native language, Soureth, is of Semitic
origin and the modern-day derivation of Aramaic, the language
spoken by Jesus of Nazareth. Aramaic remains the liturgical
language of the Chaldean church, much as Latin was the liturgical
language of the Roman church until 1963. Many American-born
Chaldeans may speak Soureth, Arabic, or both, in addition to
English.

According to Sengstock (2005), only 23 Chaldeans resided in
Michigan in 1923; by 1986 there were 10,000, and in 2005,
there were approximately 100,000. Petrosian (2006) noted that
one third of all Christians in Iraq left the country in the 1990s.
The Christian population in Iraq further plummeted between
700,000 and 900,000 in 2003 to about 360,000 in 2006 (Library
of Congress, 2006).

In this paper, the authors explore how Chaldean-American
undergraduates at one Michigan university described their
identities amidst Chaldean and mainstream-American influences.

To define Chaldean and mainstream-American identities, the
authors focused on four contrasting values that emerged in their
research: collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, religion, and
masculinity.

A limited number of researchers have investigated Chaldean-
Americans. Some investigators have focused on Chaldean-
American history (Sengstock, 2005, 1982) and patterns of
immigration (Sengstock, 2005, 1982; Rubin and Bhavnagri,
2001; Shikwana, 1997). Others have studied Chaldean-
American values in relation to collectivism (Sengstock, 1982,
2005; Shikwana, 1997; Rubin and Bhavnagri, 2001), uncertainty
avoidance (Goffe, 1999; Sengstock, 1982; Shikwana, 1997),
religion (Sengstock, 1982, 2005), and masculinity or gender
roles (Gallagher, 1999; Sengstock, 1982). Doctoroff (1978)
studied the perceived identities of first-generation Chaldean high
school students, and Sengstock (1982, 2005) investigated how
Chaldean-Americans viewed their identity in relation to given
variables. Education-related studies have been limited to primary
and secondary levels, concentrating especially on the attitudes
and perceptions of education in the community (Sengstock, 1982;
Shikwana 1997), and relations between educators and students
(Evans-Bruns, 1984; Rubin, 2001). Until now, no study has
focused on the identity or values of second-generation Chaldean-
American college students.

Methods

Using the protocol from a similar study on Japanese
undergraduates (Brender, 2006), the researchers compiled and
adapted a list of interview questions for Chaldean-American
college students. The researchers recorded a pilot study with a
volunteer participant and then modified, added, and eliminated
questions based on the responses.

The investigators sent personalized emails to students with
Chaldean surnames, soliciting undergraduates who identified as
American-born Chaldeans between the ages of 18 and 24, and
whose parents identified as Iraqi-born Chaldeans. The researchers
also recruited participants through campus flyers, a university
web-based announcement, and word of mouth. Ultimately a
convenience sample of 13 students was obtained.

Participants provided demographic information regarding age,
major, parental origins, and languages spoken in the home.
Researchers then recorded interviews focusing on perceptions
of self-identity and institutions such as family, education,
friendship, religion, dating, and work history. Most institutionrelated
questions were designed to solicit perceived differences
between Chaldean and mainstream American values. Questions
about hobbies and activities were also asked as a way to better
understand personal values. Finally, to shed further light on
personal identities, participants were asked to draw and then
explain a picture that would depict their cultural identity.

Researchers compiled field notes, transcribed interviews and
coded data on a qualitative software program using Hofstede’s
(1984) work-related values (power distance, uncertainty
avoidance, collectivism, and masculinity) and grounded theory.
Categories with large numbers of quotes were again broken
down by subcategories using grounded theory. As an example,
the collectivism category was divided by quotes pertaining to
family, community, and positive face concerns. The researchers
then analyzed each category, looking for commonalities and
differences between Chaldean and mainstream-American values.
Representative quotes were selected, analyzed, discussed, and
ultimately edited for conciseness.

Demographics

The researchers interviewed 13 second-generation Chaldean-
American college students from one urban university in the
Midwest. Five men and eight women participated, between
ages 19 and 22. Six were sophomores, four juniors, two seniors,
and one did not specify. Most students belonged to pre-medical
programs. Fourteen of the participants’ parents were from
Baghdad and eight were from the village of Telkaiff, often
considered the cradle of Chaldean civilization.

Findings

The researchers found that participants associated Chaldean
identity with collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, religious
fervency, and disparity in gender roles. Conversely, participants
associated mainstream American identity with individualism,
a willingness to embrace new experiences, limited regard for
religion, and gender equality. Findings are addressed for each of
the above values:

Collectivism

Participants overwhelmingly regarded collectivism as a
principal value in the Chaldean community, in contrast with
the individualism they generally associated with mainstream
Americans. Collectivism in this study was defined as: “Attending
to and fitting in with others and the importance of harmonious
interdependence with them” (Markus and Kitayama, 1991, p.
224). As such, participants associated collectivist values with
strong family and community ties and an overriding concern
with family reputation.

The importance of family was a dominant theme in each interview.
Students frequently discussed their bonds with immediate and
extended family. When asked what constituted success in life,
male and female participants mentioned family before career or
personal happiness. One participant answered:

Being a good father. I think this is important--being
able to raise your kids and [having] other people . .
. say, “Wow, look how good these kids are!

Another participant expressed that Chaldean family-ties were
probably stronger than those of non-Chaldean families:

My mom definitely devoted every minute . . .
to my dad and her kids. Considering that I was
a babysitter, this clearly wasn’t the case with
[non-Chaldean] families . . . Like, [Chalden
parents] don’t have their own little adult time
to go . . . to a movie and leave the kids at
home.

Family collectivism in the Chaldean community was often
enhanced by a family-owned business, most notably a party or
convenience store. One participant insisted, “When you work
with your family at an early age you also become more tight-knit
with them.”

Finally, many participants discussed the importance of
maintaining face, which included preserving personal and family
reputations within the Chaldean community. As one participant
explained:

Everyone knows each other--we all go to the
same church, all of our parents know each
other’s parents, so you just cannot screw around-
-everyone’s going to talk, make fun, talk about
you-- it’s embarrassing!

Uncertainty Avoidance

Hofstede (1984) defined uncertainty avoidance as “the extent
to which members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or
unknown situations” (p. 113). In this study, Chaldean-American
college students described members of the Chaldean community
as high in uncertainty avoidance, which they associated with
close family proximity, tightly controlled dating norms, and a
value for education only as it related to financial security.
Uncertainty avoidance was evidenced in the tendency for parents
and their college-age children to remain in close proximity.
Students frequently discussed their own and others’ decisions
to commute rather than live on college campuses. Iraqi-born
parents were often described as discouraging if not forbidding
their college-age sons or daughters from leaving home. The
following statement was representative:

[Chaldean parents] don’t want anybody outside of
the house yet and . . . that’s certainly been the case
with a lot of my friends. They’ve chosen between
[two local universities] just because they’re [close
to] home.

Though theoretically not opposed to marrying outside the
Chaldean community, most participants revealed a preference
for a Chaldean marriage partner. Some articulated that marrying
within the Chaldean community offered a greater likelihood
of sharing similar values. Such values, including a prohibition
of divorce, seemed to offer as much certainty as one could
reasonably hope for.

In terms of education, participants insisted that many Chaldean
Americans prized medicine, pharmacy, law, and business for their
prestige, but mostly for their imminent road to financial security.
Studying or dabbling in the arts, humanities, and social sciences
was generally invalidated. Learning for the sake of learning,
according to one female participant, was not highly valued in the
Chaldean community:

American men, they start off young. You see them
in hockey leagues, they’re taking piano lessons;
um girls are . . . taking voice lessons [and] all this
other [stuff]…it’s never like that with . . . Chaldean
men or women. That’s where we’re different.

Although a few participants spoke to their family’s premium on
education, most revealed that their parents’ vision of schooling
equated to security. A biology major whose parents held advanced
degrees, expressed the importance of education in terms of
uncertainty avoidance:

I’ve always been brought up with, like, education
is something that is very important because you
don’t know when you could just lose everything
. . .

When asked what kind of man her parents would like her to
marry, one student said:

[It’s important that] he has money. Doesn’t matter
if he went to school or anything like that--as long
as he’s successful.

Religion

Religion was a dominant theme in each interview. As descendents
of Christian minorities in a predominantly Muslim country,
participants frequently discussed religion in terms of identity
and how it set them apart from both Arab Muslims and American
Christians. Participants overwhelmingly viewed their religion,
whether Roman or Chaldean Catholic, as key to their identity,
lifestyle, and personal spirituality.

While participants generally saw themselves and other Chaldean
Americans as more religiously fervent than other Americans,
many also felt a need to distinguish themselves from Muslims
from their homeland and other parts of the Middle East. A
female participant insisted:

When you say you’re Arab, it’s just like they’re
Muslim--they practice different things, they eat
different foods, they do different . . . everything
is different.

In terms of lifestyle, many participants discussed their
involvement with the church and church organizations. A 19
year-old participant described how his faith set the framework
for participation in various religious activities:

I am still volunteering at [a Catholic church]. And
I do CLC--Chaldeans Loving Christ-- which is a
youth group . . . For me, I don’t see how religion
can’t play a major role in people’s lives. [If I didn’t
have religion], I would have no idea where I’d be
right now.

Some participants claimed that their participation in Catholic
rituals went beyond the custom for most Roman Catholics.
During the Lenten season--the 40-day period where Catholics
make individual sacrifices—one participant reported:

For . . . Lent--I give up all animal products. I even
do Sundays . . . Just because I feel like you’re not
making sacrifices if you don’t include Sundays.

Beyond identifying as Catholic and following prescribed rituals
and traditions, participants often discussed deeper aspects of
their spirituality. Without prompting, students frequently talked
about faith. Typical of these comments was the following:

Whenever I’m lost or I don’t know what to do, I
turn to God. I tell Him whatever is bothering me
or whatever I need. If I need help or whatever . . .
He always comes through.

Religion was a prevailing theme in each interview. When asked
to draw a picture to represent personal identity, many respondents
featured crosses, bibles, or churches to represent their Chaldean
identity or a universal Christian identity that shined above all
other identities.

Masculinity

Hofstede (1984) defined masculinity as competitiveness, which
included disparity in gender roles. Although competition may
be a feature among Chaldeans, especially regarding business
ownership, many participants focused on gender-role differences
regarding career choice, roles within the family, and double
standards in dating.

Gender Roles: Career Choice

Many male and female participants discussed boundaries for
women planning a career. Perceptions ranged from parents
forbidding their daughters to work to parents encouraging their
daughters to study medicine. At one extreme, a participant
revealed:

My father was always like, “In my household, as
long as I am living here and paying the bills, a
woman will never work!”

In other families, Iraqi-born parents were seen as encouraging
women to pursue careers, but not careers that might interfere
with family responsibilities:

My two older brothers . . . were in medical school
and [my sister] wanted to be a doctor but my dad
said to her, “You should become a pharmacist
because it’s better for you--you’re gonna raise a
family.”

Gender Roles: Family

Students frequently described gender-role differences between
their fathers and mothers. One informant claimed her father was
representative of other Chaldean fathers:

My dad was your typical, “You’re-not-goinganywhere!”--
very powerful at my house; where
my mom didn’t really have a say in a lot of things.
But then again, she didn’t care to have a say.

Mothers were often portrayed as homemakers and nurturers. One
student related:

Chaldean women take care of family. They’re not
used to having any responsibility other than the
house. They were raised ever since they were girl
. . . [to] just take care of the kids, and teach them
how to behave, and prepare them food and take
care of the house.

Many women explained that their parents defined success for women based on marriage and family. When asked how her parents would envision an ideal life for her, one female participant replied, “Married, popping children, and helping [my husband] out at the party store.”

Double Standards in Dating

Although male and female participants agreed that men and
women should abstain from premarital sex and date only with
intentions of marriage, several also admitted that repercussions
for dating applied only to women. While many felt their parents
would never allow their daughters to date, most conceded that
their parents would or had encouraged their sons to date freely.
Although punishment for a disobedient daughter was beyond the
frame of reference for some respondents, one male participant
imagined his reaction to a sexually active daughter:

A guy screwing around is not a big deal--that’s just
the way it is. But it’s not okay. I wouldn’t say it’s
okay . . . , but I wouldn’t be so mad if I found out
my son screwed around. But . . . if my daughter
did that, I would tell her to leave the house!

Female participants, in contrast, typically identified double
standards in dating as an injustice, although most claimed to
capitulate to their parents’ wishes. One woman commented:

My extended family, they would always ask my
brother, “So, do you have a girlfriend yet?” He’s
18 now and done with his first year of college. If I
said I had a boyfriend,. . . they’d stake me on the
outside!

Conclusions about Values and Identity

In the present investigation, Chaldean-American college
students expressed rather uniform opinions about distinctions
between Chaldean–American and mainstream-American values.
Respondents overwhelmingly associated Chaldean-American
identity with collectivism, an emphasis on family and family
reputation, self sacrifice, uncertainty avoidance, religious
devotion, and gender disparity in terms of occupation and
courtship. Conversely, participants viewed mainstream American
identity as highly individualistic, lacking in family cohesion,
open to new experiences, marginally religious, and egalitarian in
terms of gender roles and courtship.

Although in agreement about polarity between Chaldean-
American and mainstream American values, respondents
varied in their depictions of personal identity. A few claimed to
separate themselves from mainstream American values, which
they viewed as attractive but immoral. At least one participant
identified as conflicted and drew a picture of herself reaching
toward mainstream American culture while being held back by
the Chaldean-American community. A few students who felt a
part of both the Chaldean and mainstream American communities
expressed that their religious identity acted as a unifier between
the two. By being Catholic first, they reasoned, it was possible to
reach out to people of all cultures.

In short, participants identified as separated, conflicted, or
seamlessly fused. All, however, viewed themselves as family
oriented and religious. As Mary Sengtock suggested to the
authors in an informal interview (April, 2007), contrary to the
patterns of assimilation that were common to most ethnic groups
in the United States, the Chaldeans have continued to fervently
maintain their ethnic identity and values.

Limitations

The participants in this study were students at a single university,
hailed from middle or upper-middle class backgrounds and
viewed themselves as academically successful, religiously
devout, and strongly interested in Chaldean culture. Each
participant also volunteered enthusiastically to be a part of our
study. Their references to others in the Chaldean community who were less academically and religiously oriented served as red flags that participants did not necessarily represent the entire Chaldean community.

Implications for Student Affairs

The above findings may be helpful for student affairs professionals
in the recruitment, retention, and service of Chaldean-American
college students. The authors submit that college personnel who
have a basic understanding of Chaldean-American identity, and
values (such as those proposed in the current study) will be better
poised to assess the goals, needs, and struggles of current and
potential Chaldean-American students.

References

Brender, J. R. (2006). Japanese undergraduates at an American
university: acculturation identity, cultural identity, and values.
Dissertation Abstracts International, 67(10). (UMI No. 3236285)

Evans-Bruns, C. (1984). Teaching English as a second language
and culture to Chaldean-American immigrants in occupations
related to the food and beverage industry. Master’s Abstracts
International, 24(03), AAT1327413.

Doctoroff, A. M. (1978). The Chaldeans: a new ethnic group
in Detroit’s suburban high schools. Dissertation Abstracts
International, 39(02), 738A. (UMI No. AAT 7813638)

Gallagher, B. G. (1999). Chaldean immigrant women, gender and
family. Dissertation Abstracts International, 60(06), 2108A.
(UMI No. AAT 9932977)

Goffe, L. (1999). Chaldean’s USA. The Middle East, 50.

Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture’s consequences: International differences
in work-related values. California: Sage Publications.

Library of Congress, Federal Research Division. (2006). Country
Profile: Iraq. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from http://lcweb2.loc.
gov/frd/cs/profiles/Iraq.pdf

Markus, H., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications
for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98,
224-253.

Petrosian, V. (2006). Assyrians in Iraq. Retrieved January 23, 2008,
from http://www.aina.org/reports/assyriansiniraq.pdf

Rubin, L., & Bhavnagri, N. P. (2001). Voices of recent Chaldean
adolescent immigrants. Childhood Education, 77, 308.

Sengstock, M. C. (1982). Chaldean Americans: Changing conceptions
of ethnic identity. New York: The Center for Migration Studies.

Sengstock, M. C. (2005). Chaldeans in Michigan. East Lansing:
Michigan State University.

Shikwana, T. (1997). The relationship of socioeconomic status of
Chaldean parents and their children’s education. Dissertation
Abstracts International, 58(11), 4230A. (UMI No. AAT 9815377)



---------------------


The full topic:



Content-length: 25800
Content-type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Accept: text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,*/*;q=0.8
Accept-charset: ISO-8859-1,utf-8;q=0.7,*;q=0.7
Accept-encoding: gzip,deflate
Accept-language: en-us,en;q=0.5
Connection: keep-alive
Cookie: *hidded*
Host: www.insideassyria.com
Keep-alive: 300
Referer: http://www.insideassyria.com/rkvsf5/rkvsf_core.php?.Oghl.
User-agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.0.5) Gecko/2008120122 Firefox/3.0.5



Powered by RedKernel V.S. Forum 1.2.b9