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Communication ETDs
Publication Date
7-1-2011
Abstract
In this study I describe how individuals living in Laredo, Texas, a city situated in the U.S.-Mexico border region, make sense of their identities through their experiences in the Washington Birthday Celebration (WBC). By focusing on communication as means for creating cultural identities, this study provides insight into how communication is used in the construction and performance of cultural identities. Specifically, I focus on The Society of Martha Washington, one of the several affiliate organizations that participates in the WBC, in order to answer the following research questions about the enactment of cultural identities in the WBC: (1) What cultural identities are enacted at the WBC and how do participants use communication to enact these expressed identities? (2) How do participants enact their cultural identities beyond the WBC? I argue that although the WBC is intended to foster a collective identity, it poses a problematic contradiction since it implicates the enactment of various identities wherein status differentials are enhanced.
Language
English
Keywords
cultural identity, performance, border identity
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Communication
Level of Degree
Masters
Department Name
Department of Communication and Journalism
First Committee Member (Chair)
RodrÃguez, Ilia
Second Committee Member
Getrich, Christina
Recommended Citation
Ramos, Diana Carolina. "Borders, Bridges, and Beer: Performances of Cultural Identities in the Washington Birthday Celebration." (2011). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds/63