Negotiating a Hybrid Identity: A Discursive Analysis of Higher Education Muslim ESL Learners Sameen Motahhir MA, MA (Lit), MTESOL College of Education, Victoria University Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of Doctor of Philosophy March 2015 Abstract The primary objective of this research study is to map out the nature of hybridity of ESL learners/speakers that results from their resistance and/or acceptance of Western cultural discourses that are embedded within English curriculum texts taught to Muslim ESL learners at higher educational institutes in Pakistan. As the respondents are part of a society that has a postcolonial past, label themselves as Muslims and are exposed to Western value systems via curriculum texts and social media, the thesis examines the data using a conceptual and methodological framework, which comprises postcolonialism, Islamic anthropology and hybridity. Using Parker’s analytical toolkit informed by Foucauldian discourse analysis, the study focuses on: 1) identifying and highlighting the impact of cultural references and discourses that are embedded within the texts of ESL teaching materials that may confuse or alienate Muslim learners/speakers, 2) examining Muslim speakers’ perceptions of teaching materials from Western countries and their responses, and 3) mapping out the nature of hybridity in the context of adult Muslim speakers. By doing so the research aims to construct not only an analysis of hybrid discursivity among Muslim ESL higher education learners in Pakistan, but to also map out their internalized hybrid space. Data that generated the analysis resulted from case studies of two elitist Pakistani higher educational institutes, with one being the primary case study and the other, a supporting case study. Data collected included teaching materials, classroom and institutional observations, and interviews and surveys of students and lecturing staff. By using a qualitative approach, the research findings present insights into the Pakistani Muslim ESL respondents’ progressive and critical abilities to delineate their own hybrid identities. In addition, they lead to the proposal of a possible visual presentation of how the abstract notion of hybridity can be conceived. This research contributes to the ongoing discussion by offering a critique on existing debates on hybridity and identity, and suggesting the need for an ii inclusive methodological framework that acknowledges the discursive paradigms of respondents, and their capacities for what is termed ‘critical ontological discursivity’. iii Student Declaration I, Sameen Motahhir, declare that the PhD thesis entitled Negotiating a Hybrid Identity: A Discursive Analysis of Higher Education Muslim ESL Learners is no more than 100,000 words in length including quotes and exclusive of tables, figures, appendices, bibliography, references and footnotes. This thesis contains no material that has been submitted previously, in whole or in part, for the award of any other academic degree or diploma. Except where otherwise indicated, this thesis is my own work. Signature______________________ Date_____/_____/_____ iv Acknowledgements Although this may simply be an acknowledgement, it is clear that the debt I owe to many is far greater than any words that can be written here. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisors, Professor Helen Borland, Dr. Finex Ndhlovu and Dr. Mary-Rose McLaren who have guided and supported me at a time when I needed them the most. Their commitment and patience helped me see that anything was possible and their generosity in the final stages has been invaluable. I am grateful to Dr. Jane Orton and Dr. Jill Sanguinetti, who suggested this idea and ignited my interest in this area. I am also indebted to Professor Michelle Grossman and who supported and encouraged me as well as Professor Ron Adams, Dr. Tarquam McKenna and Dr. Diane Brown. This thesis would not exist without their involvement, and I am privileged in being able to benefit from their experience and advice. I am extremely grateful to Professor Claire Kramsch and Professor John Hutnyk who provided feedback and helped in formulating theories of hybridity and in unravelling the mysteries of Foucauldian discourse analysis. I would also like to acknowledge a figure from my past, whose influence has remained with me to this day—my third grade teacher, Mrs Floyce Abdul- Wahab from my American school. My deepest gratitude is to my father Dr. Nisar Ahmad and my mother Dr. Hamida Nisar who showed me the benefits of knowledge and the responsibility that came with it. I am and will always be eternally grateful to my husband Motahhir Nabi, who held my hand through all the solitary hours and made this journey exhilarating and to my children who waited patiently, hoping this journey wouldn’t take forever. v TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE ............................................................................................................................ i ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. ii STUDENT DECLARATION ......................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. vi LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... xi ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................. xii PREFACE ................................................................................................................. xiii REFLEXIVE NARRATIVE ............................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................... 2 1.1 INTRODUCING THE RESEARCH ...................................................................... 2 1.2 DEFINING THE CONCEPTS ............................................................................ 5 1.2.1 Discourse, discursive formations and discursivity .............................. 5 1.2.2 Linguistic imperialism ......................................................................... 6 1.2.3 Postcolonialism, hybridity and Islamic anthropology .......................... 7 1.3 THE RESEARCH AIM .................................................................................... 9 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH ............................................................... 14 1.5 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................... 15 1.6 BACKGROUND TO APEX AND RISE UNIVERSITIES ......................................... 18 1.7 DATA COLLECTION .................................................................................... 21 1.7.1 Data analysis and presentation ........................................................ 22 1.7.2 The vantage point............................................................................. 23 1.8 OVERVIEW OF THE THESIS ......................................................................... 28 1.9 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 30 REFLEXIVE NARRATIVE .......................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND .......................................................................... 32 2.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 32 2.2 HISTORICAL CONTEXT ............................................................................... 32 2.3 EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT ............................................................................ 36 2.3.1 HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION (HEC) ............................................... 38 2.3.2 HEC CURRICULUM .............................................................................. 39 2.4 RELIGIOUS CONTEXT ................................................................................. 40 2.5 SOCIOECONOMIC CONTEXT ........................................................................ 43 2.6 POLITICAL CONTEXT .................................................................................. 44 vi 2.7 SUMMARY ................................................................................................. 45 REFLEXIVE NARRATIVE .......................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................. 45 3.1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 47 3.2 DEFINING THE CONCEPT OF LANGUAGE ...................................................... 48 3.2.1 English as an international language................................................ 49 3.3 THE NOTION OF CULTURE .......................................................................... 52 3.3.1 Language and culture ....................................................................... 54 3.4 IMPERIALISM ............................................................................................. 57 3.4.1 Linguistic imperialism