Institution, Culture, and Corroboration of Everyday Life – Situational Identification of Migrants and their Children in Urban China

Abstract

This article uses both a macro and micro approach to analyze the self-identification of immigrants in Shanghai(including both migrant workers and white collar immigrants),which involves the validation of understanding and daily interpersonal interactions,respectively.The three processes of validation of one’s self-identification;i.e.,recognition afforded by others,corroboration in action,and resonance with past knowledge,often lead to different results.Therefore,the workers and immigrants demonstrate fluidity and flexibility in defining their own identity.Consequently,they selectively assume different and sometimes conflicting self-identities in different situations,and when interacting with different others.They justify this situational identification with a variety of cultural sources from the existing cultural repertoire,which are influenced by traditional Chinese culture,especially the social importance placed on the ancestral village or place of origin,as well as adherence to heritage and cultural roots.At the micro level,the formation of identity is found to be closely related to the individually lived experiences of everyday life.

從社會認知形成過程以及日常人際互動的角度分析外來移民的自我身份認同,從而探討制度、文化以及日常體驗在人們認知周遭世界的過程中相互作用的動態關系。在中國現有的制度安排與文化傳統的背景下,外來移民的身份認同既受到傳統文化,尤其是中國獨有的'籍貫'和'不忘本'文化的影響,在微觀層面又與個體日常生活體驗密切相關。當認知驗證的不同過程、他者的承認(recognition)、日常經驗的確證(corroboration)以及過去知識的共鳴,三者之間產生沖突時,人們有選擇性地根據當下的情境調整他們的身份認同。'情景性身份認同'(situational identification)這個概念,有助于更好地理解制度性約束、文化以及微觀互動過程之間的動態關系。