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Identity and Duality

The term “culture” is complex, encompassing beliefs, ideas, and actions that influence how people think, act, and place value and meaning on things in the world (Nieto, 1999; Saravia-Shore & Arvizu, 1992). Working with students with a dual cultural identity can be challenging. For example, students who identify with one culture by ethnicity and family but live in another cultural context face a more complex task than understanding and expressing a single identity (Eaton, 1991; Nieto, 1999; Saravia-Shore & Arvizu, 1992). Garber (1995) describes “border studies” as referencing the intersection points between two cultures in which some elements overlap and others diverge. Desai (2003) suggests that an examination of these cultural borders can occur through viewing or creating works of art that explore and expose these overlapping areas. Building tolerance and even appreciation for ambiguity, a long-recognized characteristic of creative people (Powell, personal communication, March 28, 2005), can be one outcome of border studies. Living in more than one cultural context is often a struggle—it asks one to embrace a pluralistic persona, for which one must juggle ideas and perspectives. Anzaldúa (1990) notes that, “awareness of our situation must come before inner changes, which in turn comes before changes in society. Nothing happens in the real world unless it first happens in the images in our heads” (p. 385). Changing the image in our heads may begin through an artistic exploration of cultural identity; what follows describes growth in understanding, accepting, and owning of one’s multifaceted identity. Identity and Duality Through the arts,