Sociologist discusses modes of ethnic identity in Canada (05/31/98)

Sociologist discusses modes of ethnic identity in Canada

by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj
Toronto Press Bureau

TORONTO - Though Ukrainians are one of the largest and most organized ethnic groups in Canada, they have had difficulty in sustaining their influence on the country's society as whole, because much of their activity is the "expressive" rather than "instrumental" mode.

This analysis was suggested by Prof. Wsevolod Isajiw, the Robert F. Harney Professor of Ethnic, Immigration and Pluralism Studies at the University of Toronto, in a lecture at the St. Vladimir Institute on March 25, part of the institute's "Ukrainian 102" series.

In his lecture, titled "The Meaning of Being Ukrainian Canadian: Ukrainian Ethnicity in Canada," Prof. Isajiw explained that the "expressive" mode of an ethnic identity concentrates on the preservation and promotion of a given culture, particularly through social contacts within an ethnic group, while the "instrumental" mode prompts individuals to organize in order to achieve political and economic goals, to claim certain rights and promote policies.

The Toronto-based sociology professor said organizations such as the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Ukrainian World Congress should function in the instrumental mode, but nonetheless lean toward the expressive, holding conventions, ceremonies on anniversaries, presenting awards for community service and the like.

In relative terms, Prof. Isajiw said, Ukrainians in Canada are not a group that has moved to the top of the socio-economic structure. The sociologist said that data provided by Statistics Canada suggests that Ukrainians are less present in the upper economic echelon than more recent immigrants from areas such as Southeast Asian and the Caribbean.

Prof. Isajiw suggested that the presence of pockets of poverty among Ukrainians, particularly the elderly and some new arrivals, merits study and deserves greater attention from Ukrainian Canadian organizations.

Identity loss

Drawing on his research experience, Prof. Isajiw said Ukrainians show a typical and very rapid loss of fluency in their language, seen by sociologists and policy-makers as a key determinant of identity, with only 18 percent of third-generation Ukrainian Canadians citing it as their mother tongue. Nonetheless this is still a markedly higher statistic than that for Italians, Germans and other groups.

Prof. Isajiw said the concept of Ukrainian identity tends to be rather static, associated with food, dance and ornamental kitsch.

He also pointed out that participation in organized life shows precipitous decline over generations, and an even greater drop is registered in readership of the press, oddly unaffected by the availability of Ukrainian community English-language media.

Prof. Isajiw said he participated in the conducting of a joint survey of various third-generation ethnic groups in Toronto, and reported that 70 percent of Ukrainian respondents felt that they should teach their children Ukrainian, 36 percent supported Ukrainian causes financially, and 15 percent felt they should participate in Ukrainian organizations.

He said roughly one-third retains some aspects of identity, adding that "it may be more significant that any aspect of identity is retained at all, rather than to seek ways to ensure that all aspects are retained."

"Identity tension"

Prof. Isajiw examined the concept of "identity tension," faced by all members of ethnic minorities. He outlined five coping strategies adopted by individuals. He said that some "compartmentalize their experience," and make no effort to reconcile their "ethnic" and "Canadian" worlds, thereby eliminating conflict.

Others reject the society at large, ignore its strictures, submit slightly to its patterns of organization, but mostly live within ghettos. Prof. Isajiw called such people "the 150 percent Ukrainians."

The opposite were "the 150 percent Canadians," who reject their ethnic world, rebel against their background and fully adopt the host society's customs and practices as a model. Prof. Isajiw pointed out that, ironically, such individuals are often the most vocal in their criticism of the Ukrainian community, which for the sociologist is a sign of "repressed commitment to identity."

Some individuals reject both group and society to focus on "higher" concerns that go beyond ethnicity or citizenship to join larger movements, such as Marxism or religious cults, he said.

Prof. Isajiw did little to hide his preference for the final category of "coping," that of "bringing two worlds together," which involves "making sense of the doubleness and finding common ground."

Prof. Isajiw said that among third- and fourth-generation members of ethnic minorities, the process of rediscovery of their identities can be very productive, and can translate into instrumental engagement with society. The sense of estrangement felt by their forebearers is not only blunted, the sociologist pointed out, but sublimated into an ability to formulate the communities issues as concerns of the society as a whole.

For Prof. Isajiw, "the towering example" of this process was the multiculturalism movement, led by third-generation Ukrainian Canadians Sen. Paul Yuzyk, Prof. Manoly Lupul and Justice Walter Tarnopolsky. Thanks to their efforts, the concept was enshrined in Canada's Constitution and was adopted as public policy for two decades.

Prof. Isajiw's lecture was the last in the St. Vladimir Institute's "Ukrainian 102" series, which also included University of Toronto Prof. Danylo Struk's treatment of the topic "Ukrainian Language: Its Development in Canada," and Toronto-based Cziopa Palijiw Ukrainian Heritage School Director Tania Onyschuk's lecture "Customs and Traditions: A Canadian Ukrainian Perspective."