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3 - Shaping Sikh Youth Subjectivities in a US Gurdwara

Discursive Socialization of Religious Heritage in Sikh History Classes

from Part I - Socializing Values, Dispositions, and Stances

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2020

By
Wendy Klein
Edited by
Matthew J. Burdelski  and
Kathryn M. Howard
Matthew J. Burdelski
Affiliation:
Osaka University
Kathryn M. Howard
Affiliation:
California State University, Channel Islands
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Summary

This chapter employs the language socialization approach to analyze the heteroglossic nature of linguistic practices and moral discourses in Sikh history classes at a US gurdwara (Sikh temple). Based on ethnographic audiovisual recordings, observations, and interviews carried out in a Sikh education program over a two-year period, analyses of classroom interactions during educational activities illuminate the semiotic repertoires that shape and reflect notions of ethno-religious identification in a minority community in transition and the multiple discourses tied to community survival. The analysis of classroom interactions reveals the collaborative and, at times, conflictual processes of coming to terms with forging a coherent model of Sikh community norms. The findings demonstrate how postcolonial concepts of modernity and transnational identity formation are reflected in youth experiences and language practices as they grapple with the contemporary sociopolitical landscape of the United States. The chapter provides a unique perspective on links between classroom discourse and diasporic community innovations.

Keywords

Sikh youthSikh-Americanshistory classdiasporareligious socializationself-critiquestance
Type
Chapter
Information
Language Socialization in Classrooms
Culture, Interaction, and Language Development
 , pp. 49 - 70
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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