Page 39 - Tallinn University

HARIDUSTEADUSED Tallinna Ülikooli üliõpilaste 2015/2016. õppeaasta PARIMAD TEADUSTÖÖD / Artiklite kogumik
SERvIngHoT FooDInCoLDnESS
an eTHnograpHy of overseas CHinese in Helsinki, finlanD
SERVEERIDES TULIST TOITU KÜLMUSES — ETNOGRAAFIA VäLISHIINLASTEST HELSINGIS, SOOMES
I koht magistritööde kategoorias
PInqIngWU
intrOductiOn
My thesis is titled “Serving Hot Food in Coldness: An Ethnography of Overseas Chinese in Helsinki, Finland” and it is based on my two-month participant observation, during which I lived with a Chi- nese man and his family in the city of Helsinki, Finland. Cheng Liguang (my main informant) and members in his family, his son and his wife (Cheng Li’ao and Feng Yichan), are the protagonists of this thesis. is research project, conducted at their apartment and the restaurant they own, discovered that although individuals’ country of origin and current place of residence can position them within a diasporic community, their identity constructs, and senses of home and belonging deserve to be appreciated on an individual basis.
I am interested in employing participant observation as a lens to explore one Chinese immigrant’s lifeworld and his life stories. By positioning the individual at the centre of this thesis, I am attempting to understand the individuality and creativity embedded within the identity construct and the social engagement of Chinese immigrants. And furthermore, to what extent, in what manner, are such indi- viduality and creativity persevered through generational alteration.
In this thesis, I problematise a wide range of stereotypical and biased conceptualisations of individuals who travel and relocate beyond the borders of nation-states, especially those conception that relate to identity, the sense of belonging and home. By telling a story about a Chinese man who now resides in Helsinki, Finland, with his family, I intend to suggest that individual identity is created through daily practices instead of being assigned to an individual by any singular nation-state or a collective of individuals. A concept I intend to promote in this thesis is a perennial circle in which an immigrant’s perception of “the past” and “the current” identity constructing process constantly inform each other. Moreover, I also attempt to illustrate that the construction of home is sometimes rooted within inti- mate social relations within the domestic environment.
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