An Intercultural Analysis On Shanghai Dancing From The Perspective Of Cultural Identity And Identity Negotiation Theory

Based on the theories of cultural identity and identity negotiation,the thesis,taking Shanghai Dancing written by Brian Castro as the text,analyzes and explores the characters' cultural identity issues and their identity negotiation strategies while communicating in different cultural contexts.As a Chinese Australian writer,Brian Castro possesses multiple cultural identities,so he often demonstrates his confusion about identity issues in his works.People with different cultural identities will utilize diverse ways to tackle problems and predicaments when especially confronting the issues of nationality,language,religion,values and so on.Shanghai Dancing presents readers with a multicultural feast and the cultural identities of the main characters in the novel is the study focus of the thesis.From the perspective of intercultural communication,the study focuses on analyzing the cultural identity and identity negotiation process of characters in the novel,as well as the different communication methods and identity negotiation strategies exhibited by various cultural factors.Based on the writer Brian Castro's own growing experiences,the thesis explores different strategies of identity negotiation among the protagonist Antonio Castro,the father Arnaldo Castro and the grandfather Virgil Wing.Research indicate that the construction and transformation of characters' cultural identities are obviously influenced by family environment,language and culture,values,religious beliefs and life habits.Within the framework of three dialectial concepts of intercultural boundaries,multiple characters' identity security and vulnerability,identity inclusion and differentiation,identity connection and autonomy are presented in detail.During the process of communicating with people,everyone has a strong incentive to communicate with others regardless of their personality differences.The three protagonists in Shanghai Dancing have gradually completed the transition from negative identity negotiation to positive negotiation through their own approaches and experiences.The thesis is divided into four chapters.The first chapter is devoted to the introduction of the background,significance and objective of the research.The second chapter first discusses the literature review,including domestic and foreign scholars' researches on Brian Castro and his works,on cultural identity theory and identity negotiation theory.Then the chapter expounds the theoretical framework of the research,embracing the origin and development of two theories,five aspects of cultural identity theory and three dialectical intercultural boundaries of identity negotiation theory.The third chapter focuses on characters' cultural identity and identity negotiation process from the perspective of intercultural communication.Influenced by such factors as family background,language and culture and religious beliefs,characters in Shanghai Dancing present diverse communication methods and negotiation strategies.The fourth chapter is the conclusion of the thesis,pointing out the deficiencies of the research and proposing suggestions for further researches.Studying the identity issues of the major characters in Shanghai Dancing can help readers to deepen the understanding of the theory of cultural identity and identity negotiation theory so as to better grasp the implication of the novel.