Publication Date

8-2019

Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)

4-22-2019

Type of Culminating Activity

Thesis

Degree Title

Master of Arts in Communication

Department

Communication

Supervisory Committee Chair

erin d. mcclellan, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Amy Arellano, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Christina L. Ivey, Ph.D.

Abstract

The following thesis is an autoethnographic look at codeswitching and passing in the children of immigrants. Specifically, this thesis uses methods of poetry, frameworks of re-photography, and narrative to investigate my personal experiences with these cultural phenomena over a lifetime. Grounding my work in theories on identity, culture, and co-cultural understandings, I investigate the evolution of my name from Paola, Paula, to Poe, as a representation of the length at which I attempted to assimilate and accommodate to the dominant group (U.S). It is my hope that this thesis helps to create community amongst those who have shared similar experiences and to bring light to those who have not known this experience.

DOI

10.18122/td/1566/boisestate

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