Nation and Ethnic Identity Self-Definitions in a Canadian Language Class

Abstract

An ethnographic study of a Canadian, undergraduate, advanced Hebrew course composed of heritage language learners of diverse backgrounds examined the fluctuating notion of nation and shifting national membership affiliations. Data collection techniques included participant observation and in-depth, semistructured, focus group and individual interviews of 10 students. The professor found varied constructions of national identity mediated by the influence of the learning and usage of modern Hebrew. Although all students and the professor were Jewish and identified as such, two predominant categories (“Canadians” and “Israelis”) were formed and imposed and divided the classroom when students gathered as a group. However, on further examination in individual interviews, contradictory self- and other identifications emerged based on individuals' relations to Hebrew.