Crossing
CULTURES

Young Latin American women and their conflicts with parents. The world of alternative medicine. Interracial marriages. Interactive cultural tours. As disparate as all these research topics might appear, they all explore ethnicity, multiculturalism and immigration. At a recent conference called Immigration, Ethnicity and Multiculturalism in Canada held at the University of Calgary, student researchers presented their work. OnCampus features four of their projects.

Tradition clashes with new norms for young women

or most of her childhood, Donna Molina and her Latin American family were the only visible minorities in the small, northern Ontario town of New Liskeard, a community better known for its beautiful lakes and fishing than its multicultural makeup.

The struggles Molina and her four siblings dealt with – that of trying to fit in with their Caucasian schoolmates while maintaining Latin American traditions and culture – laid the groundwork for research Molina now pursues at the University of Calgary.

“ It was tough,” recalls Molina of her attempts to fit in with her New Liskeard playmates. “I come from a Latin American family with very traditional cultural values. That has been hard to deal with as I grew up.”

Molina, whose family left El Salvador in the late 1970s because of the unstable political climate, is now an undergraduate student pursuing a joint major in International Studies and Latin American Studies. She recently completed a self-directed course in which she researched the conflict young Latin American women face attempting to fit into Canadian culture.

Molina, 24, interviewed 27 young Latin American women whose families immigrated to Canada in search of a better life. The research focused on how these women adapted to Canadian life and at the same time maintained connections with Latin American culture and formed their own identities.

“ I found that these women all dealt with conflict in their lives. They are all conflicted over trying to balance fitting in with a new, Canadian culture and trying to deal with their traditional backgrounds.

“ This conflict is the root of all kinds of family issues and problems.”

In her own life, the conflict has manifested itself in different ways over the years. Religion has been a sticking point.

“ (My parents) are very Catholic, and I am not,” says Molina. “They have a hard time understanding that.”

Molina plans to pursue graduate research in the area, and hopes ultimately to create greater awareness of the familial conflict that is often an offshoot of immigration.

“ It’s important for us to realize that as Canada moves into a whole new multicultural culture, it’s not just Latin American families who have problems. It’s people from all over the world.

“ We could use more programs to help immigrant families grow together as a family in Canada.”

Society embraces alternative medicine

hris Fries does not worry too much if his spine is in correct alignment or whether his Yin and Yang are balanced. Nonetheless, the world of alternative medicine fascinates him.

For the past several years, Fries has immersed himself in the broad spectrum of practices loosely defined by western medical culture as alternative. For his PhD dissertation, Fries is focusing his research on questions around why certain segments of society are more inclined to experiment with what he refers to as rejected alternative medicine – alternative practices whose medical effectiveness is not accepted by Western biomedicine.

“ When I talk about my research, people always figure I must have some kind of alternative lifestyle. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m not into any of this stuff.”

Fries, who plans to complete his PhD en route to becoming a professor, is supervised by Dr. James S. Frideres, a professor in the Department of Sociology and internationally recognized as an expert in Ethnic Relations and Dr. Marja Verhoef, a professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences who holds a Canada Research Chair in Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Fries became interested in alternative medicine while completing his Master’s in Sociology at Guelph University in Ontario. One of his friends worked at a health food store and would often tell him about the products being pulled off the shelf by various regulatory bodies. His master’s thesis ended up focusing on the emerging efforts of government to regulate alternative medicine.

Since coming to the U of C, Fries has explored why an increasing segment of the population uses rejected alternative medicine. He suggests that Canada’s multicultural makeup is contributing to what’s been labeled the marketing of ethnicity. In essence, Fries’ hypo-thesis is that rejected alternative medicine is increasingly being marketed capitalizing on the ethno-cultural features of the practices. He suggests that even people who don’t identify themselves as ethnic are being attracted to rejected alternative medicine because of its ties to ethnicity in an increasingly global world.

Despite the increasing popularity of rejected alternative medicine, only a handful of alternative medicine practices are widely accepted by physicians.

“ For example, if you’re looking for a referral to a chiropractor or a massage therapist, your doctor will say ‘No problem, here’s the referral.’ But if you want to see a Traditional Chinese Practitioner to have your Chi balanced, you’re not going to get a referral, or if you do, it might be to a psychiatrist.”

For his dissertation, Fries has sent a survey to Alberta family doctors asking them to rate the effectiveness of various alternative practices, such as homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine and spiritual healing. Early results show doctors supporting massage, chiropractic care, and acupuncture for limited purposes such as muscle problems and pain management. “It’s also very clear what practices they view as dangerous,” says Fries.

The second part of his research uses Statistics Canada data to look at who is using these rejected alternative medicine practices in an attempt to determine their broad social characteristics. Then, through interviews with users of rejected alternative medicine, he hopes to shed light on the role that multiculturalism and ethnic marketing plays on their decision to use of alternative medicine.

Fries hopes that the end result of his research is that physicians and policy makers will gain insight into who is using alternative practices and also why they choose rejected procedures.

Interracial marriages spark reaction

ebecca Malhi is doing what excites her.

After working 14 years with computers in the Information Technology area, much of the time at a large oil company, Malhi returned to school. A course in the history and theory of psychology sparked her interest, and several years later, Malhi is now on her way to earning a PhD in Psychology.

“ I’ve always been interested in how people think and act,” says Malhi, who has received Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada funding for her research. “And I’m definitely doing what excites me.”

For Malhi, excitement comes in researching interracial marriages. She’s embarked on an ambitious project to examine how Canadians perceive interracial marriages and also examine how individuals involved in interracial marriages cope with the challenges of their relationships.

Malhi will examine how Canada’s multi-culturalism affects society’s perception of interracial marriages. Although a lot of research has been done on interracial marriages in the United States – primarily focusing on African Americans married to Caucasians – in Canada, there is a dearth of information.

“ I want to examine how interracial relationships are different from other romantic relationships,” says Malhi, who was born in India, moved to England as a young child and later came to Canada with her family. “Interracial relationships are rare, and they also appear to experience psychological hardships more than other couples do. For example, couples tend to report being the target of discrimination, negative comments and such when they are in public together.

“ Observers may have no problems with people of different racial backgrounds interacting casually, but once they are put together romantically, then there could be tension. It seems that the relationship itself may be the issue.”

Malhi, who completed her Master of Psychology at the University of Calgary, hopes her research will spark other research in the area, and also provide valuable insights for marriage counsellors and therapists working with interracial couples.
In the first phase of her research, Malhi will survey over 100 people on their perceptions of various relationships, attitudes and beliefs surrounding a variety of relationships. She’ll then interview people about their reactions to people involved in interracial relationships.

Finally, Malhi will interview couples involved in interracial relationships and talk to them about the challenges – both positive and negative – they perceive. She is currently looking for couples to participate in her research. Those interested may email her at rmalhi@ucalgary.ca.

Tourism breaks down cultural barriers

hat does a somewhat unorthodox, salsa-dancing business PhD student do in his spare time?

He dreams up what’s now known as the U of C Multicultural Tours, a daylong interactive tour that helps students experience some of Calgary’s multicultural offerings.

The tours, offered through the International Student Centre, are the brainchild of Stuart Levy, a graduate student working towards a PhD in Tourism and Marketing at the Haskayne School of Business.

“ One of the areas I feel strongly about is the potential of tourism to promote multicultur-alism. Tourism can expose travellers to other cultures and break down barriers.”

To that end, Levy, a native of New Jersey who came to the University of Calgary after working in Miami for the past several years, has created his bus tour.
“ I thought the tour would be a good way to help people experience things outside of their normal routines,” says Levy, who holds an MBA from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

Levy created the tour concept and later received a grant through the University’s International Grants Committee.

“ We’ve started to build bridges between the university and various organizations in the community,” says Levy.

Although the specific tour details vary depending on the trip, the October tour began with a Tae Kwon-Do demonstration, followed by a trip to the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre. A walking trip through Chinatown followed lunch at Eau Claire Market. The tour ended with a visit to the Latin Corner Dance Studio, where students learned the basics of salsa and merengue.

Levy’s interest in international tourism was cemented in 1993 when he spent 100 days at sea as part of the Semester at Sea program, a travel work study course. He visited 10 South American, African and Asian countries.

“ That was a life-changing experience and I realized the potential of tourism. Tourism is more than getting “butts in seats” and “heads in beds.” I see tourism as having a higher purpose through promoting intercultural understanding.”

For his PhD dissertation, Levy is researching consumer behaviour on group tours and in the future sees combining research, teaching and small business endeavors. “I greatly enjoy teaching and have also been thinking about how to create a tourism laboratory where research could be done on visitors while on vacation. Whatever I end up doing, it’ll likely combine different aspects of what I love about tourism.”

For more information on the tours, visit the International Student Centre at MSC 275.