Ethnicity and Belonging among Young Igbo in the United States: Explicating Coculturation and Ethnic Communication Theory

Abstract

This theoretical and empirical study examines how second-generation Igbo (SGI) young adults in the United States articulate their ethnic identity within the framework of theorizing beyond the West. Identity struggles of SGI are fluid and inevitable and, therefore, deserve close attention in this ever-changing environment. This study advances the critical intercultural communication concept of coculturation and ethnic communication theory by elucidating the complexity of challenges and issues constituting the experiences of SGI. In order to explicate how SGI maintain their Igbo identity, a qualitative in-depth interview was employed. Three major themes emerged from the analysis: (a) the impact of family, community, and esthetics; (b) tensions between national and ethnic identities; and (c) pride in Igbo culture, identity, and language. Grounded in coculturation, a critical concept of cultural adjustment, and ethnic communication theory, the results show that ethnic identity, nationalism, and belonging evolve through ancestral connections while the people reside and establish themselves in the diaspora.

KEYTERMS:

• coculturation
• critical intercultural communication
• ethnic communication theory
• Igbo