Identity Construction as Nexus of Multimembership: Attempts at Reconciliation Through an Online Intercultural Communication Course

Abstract

Using situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991 Lave, J. and Wenger, E. 1991. Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and communities of practice (Wenger, 1998 Wenger, E. 1998. Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) as our theoretical framework, we focused on two female graduate students in applied linguistics as each attempted to negotiate memberships in multiple communities during an international exchange program. Eleven students at six universities took part in an internet-based intercultural communication course in addition to courses at their host universities, generating data in the form of online postings, final course papers, e-mails to the instructor, and retrospective evaluations. Ines, a Mexican student in Canada, appeared to reconcile her identity successfully as a nexus of multimembership. Adrienne, a U.S. student living in Mexico, attempted to participate in practices at her host university but felt marginalized. Our analysis demonstrates the difficulty, complexity, and sometimes the impossibility of reconciliation as a process for weaving a nexus of multimembership into one identity when encountering new practices across national borders.

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