Where is here?

Abstract

Taking John Willinsky's observation that in Canadian identity politics, the question ‘who am I?’ often necessitates the additional question ‘where is here?’ (Willinsky, 1998), this article examines excerpts from interviews with a group of teacher education students in order to explore how they used family (hi)stories about ‘country of origin’ in the construction of their identities. Making ‘country of origin’ problematic, the article also examines the limits and possibilities of being and becoming Canadian. ‘Where are you from?’ complicates and challenges the entitlement to belong. Drawing on critiques by Canadian educators, the article challenges the widely held significations given to Canadian immigration and to official policies of multiculturalism. By juxtaposing data from eight interviews, the issue of racial identity is explored, in terms of how it appears or does not appear in the stories the students tell. These juxtapositions highlight the unofficial intersections between Canadian identity, race and ethnicity. © 2000 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.