Theorizing a Sense of Place in a Transnational Community

Abstract

This article presents an emerging theoretical framework about how children in a transnational community develop a sense of place. Stemming from her own experiences with place, the author used a phenomenological hermeneutic approach to interrogate and interpret place through the lens of Caribbean-identified youth recruited from a local high school. Additional data sources included photographs, films and creative works about and by members of the Caribbean Diaspora. The major themes found were that children’ssense of place in a transnational context is influenced by a) things their parents value about place, b) their own sense of identity and connections to places, and c) places in which they live that are meaningful to them and their families.