Narrative Identities of Third Culture Kids: Pastoral Theological Reflections on Identity in an Interstitial Cultural Milieu Open Access

Ham, Eunbee (Spring 2018)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/wp988j86k?locale=en
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Abstract

This study explores the experiences of minoritized Third Culture Kids (TCKs). TCKs are defined as persons whose developmental years before the age of 18 are marked by frequent experiences of international relocations, resulting in complex and prolonged processes of negotiating identity and belonging. Inviting three Korean TCK women to tell their own life stories, this narrative inquiry explores how they pull together the disparate pieces of their life experiences into meaningful narrative identities. Since current TCK literature tends to be Eurocentric and rarely addresses the influence of race, class, gender, or religion in TCKs’ identity formation, this study privileges the voices of Korean TCK Christian women. Analyzing their stories through postcolonial, psychological, and pastoral theological perspectives, the study illumines how their grief, defense mechanisms, depression, low self-esteem, or overcompensating behaviors intertwine with the hidden narratives of colonialism, racism, classism, sexism, and Christianity. The project ultimately disrupts the Eurocentric underpinnings of TCK research and pioneers pastoral theological reflection and strategies of care through the lenses of Korean TCKs.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ...1

DISSERTATION OVERVIEW ...3

1. DEFINING THE CONVERSATION ...6

TCK LITERATURE REVIEW ...6

ERIKSON’S DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY ...13

NARRATIVE PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT THEORY ...16

PASTORAL THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE ON TCKS ...19

THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE ON IDENTITY ...22

NARRATIVE PASTORAL THEOLOGY ...28

2. RESEARCH METHODS AND METHODOLOGY ...30

RESEARCH PARADIGM ...30

PASTORAL THEOLOGICAL METHOD ...35

RESEARCH DESIGN ...40

DATA GATHERING AND ANALYSIS ...40

SETTING AND LOCATION ...42

INTERVIEW FORMAT ...43

LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH ...48

3. IN HER OWN WORDS: LIFE STORIES ...49

VERA ...50

SOPHIA ...62

EIRENE ...68

EMERGING THEMES ...73

PERFORMANCE PRESSURE ...73

LONELINESS AND NONBELONGING ...77

FAITH ...79

4. “WHAT THE HELL IS WATER?” EXPLORING RACE AND CLASS ...81

NARRATIVE ENVIRONMENTS ...82

RACE AND CLASS IN SOPHIA AND EIRENE’S NARRATIVES ...84

SUMMARY ...98

5. FOLKTALES, FAITH, AND GENDER ...100

THE TALE SHIM CHEONG, THE BLIND MAN’S DAUGHTER ...101

CONFUCIAN INFLUENCES ON GENDER NORMS IN KOREAN SOCIETY ...103

“THE GOOD DAUGHTER” AND ITS DISCONTENTS ...105

IMPLICATIONS FOR POSTCOLONIAL, FEMINIST, NARRATIVE PASTORAL CARE ...115

SUMMARY ...116

6. FAITH: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY ...118

DEFINING RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY, AND FAITH ...118

1. “FAITH AS THE FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENT FOR SELFHOOD AND RELATIONSHIPS” ...125

2. “FAITH AS A WHOLISTIC WAY OF KNOWING AND VALUING” ...134

a. KNOWING ...134

b. VALUING ...135

3. “FAITH AS DIVINE GIFT OF GRACE IN HUMAN ALIENATION ...138

a. COMFORT IN LONELINESS ...138

4. “FAITH AS ASSENT AND COMMITMENT TO TRUTH” ...141

5. FAITH AND MARGINALITY ...144

a. CULTURAL AND RACIAL SOLIDARITY ...146

SUMMARY ...147

7. PASTORAL THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON HOME, FAITH, AND IDENTITY ...150

PASTORAL THEOLOGY: AIMS, FUNCTIONS, METAPHORS ...151

TOWARD A POSTCOLONIAL NARRATIVE PASTORAL THEOLOGY ...153

BIBLICAL THEMES OF HOME AND DISPLACEMENT ...154

MOVEMENT IN THE LIFE OF FAITH: ORIENTATION-DISORIENTATION-REORIENTATION ...157

DEFINING HOME: DEVELOPMENTAL, PASTORAL THEOLOGICAL, POSTCOLONIAL PERSPECTIVES ...161

FAITH AS HOME: DIFFERENT PATHS ...167

SOPHIA: HOME IN THE SILENCES ...167

EIRENE: HOME AS “...” ...172

VERA: HOME AS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD ...176

NAVIGATING INTERPRETIVE TENSIONS AND CONFLICTS ...178

A PASTORAL THEOLOGY OF HOME: GENEROUS HOLDING ENVIRONMENT FOR MINORITIZED TCKS ...182

SUMMARY ...184

8. BREAD FOR THE JOURNEY ...187

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ...188

FUTURE IMPLICATIONS FOR STUDY ...191

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS AND WISDOM FROM TCKS ...192

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...194

APPENDIX

A. RESEARCH PARTICIPATION LETTER ...202

B. PRELIMINARY QUESTIONNAIRE ...204

C. REFERRAL LIST OF THERAPISTS ...205 

 

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