Narration and Ritual Formation of Diasporic Identity

The Case of Second Generation Karelian Evacuees

Bibliographic Data

ID7802203
AuthorsP Alasuutari (0000-0003-4111-9641, Tampere University, corresponding author), M Alasuutari (0000-0002-4881-632X, Tampere University)
Year2009
Volume16
Issue3
Pages321-341
Publication date2009-05-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueIdentities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1070-289X • E-ISSN: 1547-3384
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10702890902861321
OpenAlexW2004611956
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited34

The article is based on a case study of second generation Karelian migrants, whose parents had to move to other parts of Finland from the region of Karelia that was ceded to the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The article poses the question, how long-lived diasporic identities are, and what are the conditions that affect assimilation or maintenance of a diasporic identity. In the Karelian migrants' case, already the first generation was quite successful in integrating with the rest of the Finnish society, and with the second generation, the integration has been practically complete, largely because of a short cultural distance between the evacuees and other Finns. A recent resurgence of interest in their roots by Karelian evacuees or their family members is primarily due to end of the Cold War and the possibility to freely and openly visit Karelia. Visiting Karelia has a ritual-like function for them. To that concrete, bodily experience of going there they can attach the abstract idea that in some ways they are Karelians and thus strengthen the emotional attachment to their roots. In that sense, visiting Karelia can also be described as a pilgrimage

Aesthetics · Affect (linguistics · Ancient history · Art · Assimilation (phonology · Identity (music · Identity formation · Literature · Narrative · Pilgrimage · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Third generation · Communication · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Engineering · Gender Studies · Globalization and Cultural Identity · History · Migration, Refugees, and Integration

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