American and Honest About it: An analysis of Fulbrighters’ national identity THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Marisa Lally Graduate Program in Educational Studies The Ohio State University 2017 Master's Examination Committee: Dr. Marc Johnston-Guerrero, Advisor Dr. Susan R. Jones Copyrighted by Marisa Lally 2017 Abstract As higher education becomes further entangled with globalization, national governments have an impact on how students view themselves and their ties to their nations of citizenship. In the United States, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is one of the most long-standing and prestigious government-funded international exchange programs in the world. However, little research has been done on how the participants of these programs make meaning of their experiences once completing their role as a cultural diplomat abroad, especially as it relates to national identity. The purpose of this constructivist narrative inquiry is to understand the national identity of students who participate in U.S. government international education programs through the meaning-making of their experience and identities. The findings of this study indicate that Fulbright scholars view themselves as cultural diplomats for the United States on an international context, which in turn complicates their understanding of their own identities Americans. ii Acknowledgments I am forever grateful for the Higher Education and Student Affairs faculty for imparting their knowledge and passion for scholarship to me. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Marc Johnston-Guerrero for being the most supportive advisor that I could imagine, and Dr. Susan Jones for welcoming me into the world of qualitative research. I owe a special thank you to my parents who told me that women can and should do anything they want, and to my partner Tyler for listening to me talk about my research for hours on end. Finally, I must acknowledge Dr. Jennifer Gilbride-Brown for continuing to inspire my critical thinking about social issues in my scholarship and work with students. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. iii Vita May 2011 .......................................................Minerva High School 2015................................................................B.A., The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Educational Studies iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iii Vita ..................................................................................................................................... iv Fields of Study ................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………..viii List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………..ix Foreword ............................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 4 Purpose and Guiding Research Questions ...................................................................... 6 Guiding Theories and Contexts: National identity and Cultural Diplomacy .................. 7 National Identity .......................................................................................................... 7 Cultural Diplomacy ..................................................................................................... 9 Defining Terms ............................................................................................................... 9 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................. 11 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 13 v Identity Development and College Students ............................................................. 15 What is the Nation? ................................................................................................... 18 What is National Identity? ......................................................................................... 19 Perceptions of the Fulbright Program ........................................................................ 34 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 40 Purpose and Guiding Research Questions…………………………………………..39 Positionality Statement…………………………………………………………….. 41 Epistemological Assumptions: Constructivism……………………………………. 42 Methodology: Narrative Inquiry………………………………………………….....43 Inclusion Criteria……………………………………………………………………45 Data Collection……………………………………………………………………..45 Participant Profiles………………………………………………………………….47 Data Analysis……………………………………………………………………….52 Trustworthiness……………………………………………………………………..54 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 553 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS................................................................................................. 57 Government-sponsored Americans Abroad: Reflections on National Identity ............ 58 Michelle: “What do you mean I’m not black?” ......................................................... 58 vi Frances: “Who cares what I’m thinking? It’s about these little nuggets” ................. 68 Summary of Findings .................................................................................................... 79 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 81 National Identity in the Findings: The Fulbrighters’ Perspectives ............................... 81 Hyphenated American ............................................................................................... 82 Faith as a Filter .......................................................................................................... 84 Fulbrighters as Cultural Diplomats ............................................................................... 86 Defending American Identity .................................................................................... 87 A Holistic Perspective ............................................................................................... 89 Limitations .................................................................................................................... 90 Areas for Future Research ............................................................................................. 91 Implications for Practice ............................................................................................... 94 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 97 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 99 Appendix A: Recruitment Message ................................................................................ 109 Appendix B: Recruitment Flyer ...................................................................................... 111 Appendix C: Informed Consent Form ............................................................................ 112 Appendix D: Interview Protocol ..................................................................................... 116 Appendix E: Follow-up Interview Protocol .................................................................... 118 vii List of Figures Figure 1. Visual representation of literature review ......................................................... 14 viii List of Tables Table 1. Participant Profiles .............................................................................................. 49 Table 2. Three-Dimensional Narrative Space Structure…………………………………54 ix Foreword The Fulbright Board places its confidence in you to fulfill Senator Fulbright’s goal to develop international understanding. This effort depends on a commitment from Fulbright grantees to establish open communication and long-term cooperative relationships. As a Fulbright recipient and a representative of the United States, you will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with international partners in educational, political, cultural, economic, and scientific fields. We hope you will engage directly as well in your local community throughout your Fulbright exchange. In so doing, you will exemplify the qualities of service, leadership, and excellence that have been hallmarks of this Program for 70 years (Fulbright Scholarship Acceptance Letter). As an undergraduate student, I applied for the Critical Language Scholarship on a whim. I was studying international relations, but rather than much of the dense political theory that I was learning in class, what I really wanted to know was – how do countries interact with each other? What does “international relations” mean on an individual level? Can I be a part of building those international