Some Thoughts on Identity and Context

Sarah Carmona is a Roma historian and academic. When she is with other Spanish Roma, she identifies by her family’s trade group – as a Canasteza or Latera person. With non-Spanish Roma, however, she refers to herself by an ethnic designation – as Kali or Ole. Among non-Roma, she calls herself Gitana.

The level of identity that we communicate partially depends on the comprehension of those who receive it.

Consider “place” as a marker of identity. I attend a hypothetical meeting on issues facing residents of the island of Oahu. A round of introductions is called, and each participant is required to say where they are from. I say that I am from Kailua, a town on the Windward Side. The name is immediately recognizable to everyone in attendance, and evokes certain ideas about who I am. The fact that I’m from Oahu is taken for granted. My identity in this context hinges on which town I call home.

I attend another meeting. This time it's statewide and there are representatives from every island. Another round of introductions is called. I tell the others that I’m from Oahu. Being from Kailua is less significant.

And so on. The meetings continue. In Washington, I’m from Hawaii. Abroad, I’m from the U.S.

During this fellowship, I have become used to introducing myself as “American." HIA’s U.S. Fellows come from across the North American continent. In France, our relative geographies, and our relative identities, converge.

To some extent this is the result of language and a desire to be understood. I can’t expect a non-American – or even someone from the U.S. mainland -- to know what I mean when I tell them that I’m from Kailua. The specificity of that identity doesn’t translate.

This is not to say that our other identities are no longer present – just that they are not prominent or visible in context. Obviously, Sarah does not stop being Canasteza, Latera, Kali, Ole, or Gitana simply because she does not express those context-sensitive identities. At the same time, however, practice feeds perception, and perception practice. I tell people that I’m American and begin thinking of myself as an American.