Middle Eastern International Students’ Identity in Canada

Abstract

Through conducting interpretive case studies on eight Middle Eastern internationalstudents in Canadian universities and drawing on theories of Place and everyday life,Postcolonial theory, and Postpositivist Realist Theory of Identity, this research explores theongoing process of Identity construction of Middle Eastern international students in theintersections of race, ethnicity, class, religion, and gender. The study examines the MiddleEastern international students’ lived experiences, benefiting from a reflexive and collaborativeresearch process, informed by an interpretivist approach under a constructivism paradigm. Thefindings of the study reveal that since identity construction is a discursive process, the discourseof war and conflict in these students’ homelands has been affective in shaping who they are nowand how they experience life in Canada. Although their experiences of war and conflict amongthese students varied depending on their country of origin and their exposure, the findingsrevealed that they see their “selves” as being the subject of constant fear and anxiety, disruptedsense of self, and lack of sense of stability and security due to their experiences of war, conflict,and displacement. Moreover, findings indicated that these students’ everyday lives featureconstant struggles against the Orientalist discourse in Canadian society which is characterized byracism, discrimination, and othering towards them as Middle Eastern Muslim individuals. TheMiddle Eastern international students’ narratives suggested that these students’ socially anddiscursively politicized experiences have made them adopt a new hybrid identity as a third, inbetweenspace in which they feel safer and more integrated. This study can have importantimplications for policy makers, educators, communities, and individuals hoping to provide aspace for resistance against the Orientalist discourse of Canada by producing counter discourse.