Abstract |
This essay examines how in creating ‘communitas’ the Turkish American community negotiates the tensions between cultural homogeneity and cultural heterogeneity and how their public statements about their past reflect their present and their hopes for the future. The paper is focused on three areas: the interviews on Voice of America—Turk under the category of ‘Amerikadaki Türkler’ (the Turks in America); Turkish American associations and Turkish annual festivals. Furthermore, this essay explores the aspects of the Turkish immigrants' history that are emphasized for their new community while they evolve as part of a civil society in America. Finally, the roles of the Internet and the World Wide Web in linking the local to the global and in adding new dimensions to community building are also discussed. |