| Third
Culture Stories
Hello,
I’m Marc Levitt, writer/storyteller and educator and
I want to welcome you to Third Culture Stories,
a web site devoted to the writings of the young and old, of
students, teachers, parents and all of you who are struggling
with, happy about, bemused and confused about the issue of
‘identity’ in a world where national, ethnic,
racial boundaries are becoming more and more porous and open
to question.
First,
let’s have a little history about the term ‘Third
Culture’. Ruth Hill Useem, first used ‘Third
Culture Kid’, 40 years ago in her research
on North American children living in India. Originally referring
to children of missionaries or state department officials,
this term can now be extended to the children of corporate
executives riding the wave of globalization, children of parents
who teach in the International School community and sons and
daughters of men and women in the military. While of course
there have always been both children and adults who have lived
‘abroad’, it seems the numbers are increasing
as international markets are opened and expanded.
Some
describe the Third Culture experience as
living in a place other than where your passport was issued.
It can include those who live either permanently or temporarily,
for economic, personal and/or political reasons, in a ‘new’
country. Additionally, I feel that Third Culture Stories
should include writings from those of ‘mixed’
parentage. Many issues they face about identity are similar
to those experienced by Third Culture children and adults.
So,
if you’ve wondered ‘Who you are’, ‘Where
you’re from’, thought about how hard it is to
leave and/or arrive or felt that it was all too confusing,
then this is the web site for you!
O.K.
everybody. Ready, set… write!
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