The Third Culture Perspective: A Global Village Day Reflection
By Junie Aldrich
As we all know, Global Village Day (GVD), a beloved tradition within the ISA community, was celebrated on Wednesday of this week . GVD is an ISA celebration that, many in our community, believe to capture the essence of what it means to be part of an international community - celebrating and bringing together all the different nations that shape our community. For many, if not the majority of the student body and staff at ISA, GVD connotes feelings of togetherness, celebration and pride. The majority of us are proud to represent our national culture, seeing it as a significant contributing factor to our identity.
However, despite the merits of this perspective, because we are in fact an internationally diverse community, GVD may also in turn create confusion for some individuals who are connected to multiple cultures and nationalities.
“People’s backgrounds and experiences are complex and unique; based on an individual’s past, the subject of nationality may be so complicated that one may feel they simply cannot choose one nationality as a representation of themselves.”
For these people, GVD may look a bit different than it would to others as the multifaceted, often sensitive topic of what it means to “belong” is brought into the spotlight. And what does it even mean to belong? Better yet, what does it look like? And how do we inspire a sense of belonging for all? These are questions GVD raises that should be reflected upon, not only by individuals with third culture or multiracial identities, but by the whole community. Only then can we foster a true understanding of what it means to bring together cultural identities.
Furthermore, while GVD aims to foster togetherness, it may be argued that the emphasis on the concept of nationalism ironically divides our international community. Despite GVD being the one day in which the whole school comes together, this togetherness exists solely from a visual perspective as in truth we become more divided than ever by flags, nationalities and material identities. This too, further adds to the confusion and isolation of third culture perspectives.
To further explain this concept, I would like to highlight the difference between culture and nationality. Culture is defined as “the arts, beliefs, customs, institutions, and other products of human work and thought considered as a unit, especially with regard to a particular time or social group.” On the other hand, nationality is defined as “the status of belonging to a particular nation by origin, birth, or naturalization.” In other words, culture represents the unique aspects that have come to make up a particular community, whereas nationality ascribes individuals with a ‘status’ based on physical and political borders. Nationality in itself, is perhaps not a very inclusive concept.
Of course while this may be true, many do in fact take pride in their nationality, and in no way is my aim to shun people who feel this way. Being proud and happy to be from your country is nothing to be ashamed of. Nevertheless, I do believe that GVD should aim to transcend the boundaries of nationalism in order to truly capture the essence of togetherness that we aim to foster. GVD should center less around flags and nationalism, but more around the unique aspects of each culture represented here at ISA. Of course, this still entails being able to showcase your cultural and even national identity, but doing so in a manner that does not create divisions or exclusions.
Thus, there are some changes that could be made to make GVD more inclusive. For example, what if all nations sat mixed with each other and worked together to create multi-cultural performances instead of portraying one nation at a time? This would help promote togetherness while allowing those with a third culture background to also join in. Such individuals could explore the uniqueness and complexity of their own cultural identity in an inclusive manner instead of being roughly confronted by a prescribed idea of belonging they don’t identify with. Additionally, the rule stating that an individual can only partake in a country parade if their passport is of that nationality is simply not a sustainable rule to foster inclusivity within our community. It disregards the third culture perspective and furthers the divides between students through nationalism. Instead, the parades should be made inclusive, and open for anyone to join - whether this is because they have a direct connection to the country, or simply want to support a friend.
In conclusion, while GVD is a beautiful visual showcase to celebrate and learn about the backgrounds of people within our community, the concept of celebrating national identity may not have positive connotations to all, as is generally regarded. Thus, to truly foster togetherness within our community we should collectively be aware of everyone’s background, working together to truly make this beloved, but complex, celebration entirely inclusive.
