"My Country" / "This Country": Ambivalent Belongings of Cuban Americans in South Florida

Author(s)

Robin Cooper, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Denese Edsall, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Diana Riviera, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Julia Chaitin, Sapir Academic CollegeFollow
J. P. Linstroth, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow

ORCID ID

0000-0002-5099-9647

ResearcherID

I-7777-2019

Publication Title

Forum: Qualitative Social Research (Sozialforschung)

ISSN

1438-5627

Publication Date

9-2009

Abstract

This article explores significant notions of home and belonging among first- and second-generation Cuban immigrants in South Florida. The analyses are derived from biographical narrative interviews with six Cuban Americans. Three key subjects were in the biographical life stories—the notion of escape or leaving, the sense of home, and constructions of Cuban identity. In assessing these themes, we found there to be profound differences between the generations. Moreover, these Cuban biographies demonstrate how differing stories of migration provide new theoretical perspectives on immigration, transnationalism, and ethnicity. The experiences presented and discussed here connect to the ambivalence and complexity of belongingness and interpretations of Cuban-ness.

DOI

10.17169/fqs-10.3.1364

Volume

10

Issue

3

First Page

1

Last Page

24

NSUWorks Citation

Cooper, R., Edsall, D., Riviera, D., Chaitin, J., & Linstroth, J. P. (2009). "My Country" / "This Country": Ambivalent Belongings of Cuban Americans in South Florida. Forum: Qualitative Social Research (Sozialforschung), 10 (3), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-10.3.1364