Polycultural Interactions: Fuzzy Identity

“Robin D.G. Kelley coined the term polyculturalism as an alternative to multiculturalism, ‘since the latter often implies that cultures are fixed, discrete entities that exist side by side—a kind of zoological approach to culture.’ ” Polyculturalism assumes the whole world’s cultures are interactive and fluid instead of independent and static, and individuals’ relationship to cultures are complex and cannot be categorized. Yet an individual constitutes multiple cultures, and individual identity embraces the various forms of culture in all aspects of one’s life. My research examines how polyculturalism affects aspects of communications among people who hold a multiplicity of voices. It uses my personal experiences as the basis for work that expresses the effects of mistranslation and cultural mixing and seeks to communicate them to people of various cultural backgrounds