Lynnette Arnold, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, dives into the intricate world of transnational family dynamics. She discusses how Salvadoran families maintain bonds across borders using concepts like convivencia and communicative care. Arnold highlights adaptive methodologies in research and the pivotal role of language in emotional support. She also explores the nuances of digital communication, revealing gender dynamics and the complexities of navigating care amidst geopolitical challenges.
Transnational families maintain their relationships through innovative communication methods, demonstrating how emotional connections can transcend physical distances.
The concept of convivencia illustrates the importance of shared memories and gatherings in fostering a sense of togetherness among separated family members.
Communication serves not only as a means of care but also as a platform for asserting agency and challenging gender roles within familial dynamics.
Deep dives
Transnational Family Dynamics
Transnational families navigate complex dynamics despite being separated by borders. The experiences of El Salvadoran families with members in the U.S. illustrate how communication, particularly phone calls, plays a crucial role in maintaining relationships. Migrants often feel the burden of financial support, which influences their family dynamics, as the expectations placed on them can create emotional strain. This nuanced relationship sheds light on how families continue to pursue convivencia, or living together, through innovative communication methods.
The Concept of Convivencia
Convivencia, a Spanish term meaning living together, is central to understanding how separated families maintain connections. Members of transnational families often reminisce about household gatherings and the informal, relaxed socializing that occurs within them. Despite physical distance, these families find ways to recreate this sense of togetherness through technology, particularly during phone calls. This demonstrates that living together can transcend physical presence, evolving into maintaining relationships through communication.
Communicative Care in Family Interactions
Communicative care emerges as a pivotal concept in understanding how family members support each other across borders through language. This involves not only sharing resources but also emotional labor through communication. By analyzing phone conversations, it becomes evident that families enact care, building emotional wellbeing through their interactions despite distance. This framework reveals the deeper connections and complexities inherent in family communication, highlighting language as a tool for nurturing relationships.
Impact of Digital Communication
Digital communication has transformed the ways transnational families interact, yet it presents both opportunities and challenges. While modern technology enables video calls, many families prefer phone calls for their emotional benefits, as they allow for a more intimate connection without the visual reminder of separation. Phone calls also remain accessible for family members of all ages and literacy levels, facilitating inclusive engagement. Thus, the preference for traditional communication methods underscores the complex relationship between technology and family dynamics.
Resistance and Agency within Communication
Members of transnational families often use communication as a means of asserting agency within traditional family structures. For instance, women can leverage the communicative tasks assigned to them to advocate for their needs or challenge decisions made by male relatives. This highlights how communication can serve as both a tool for care and a platform for resistance against established gender roles. Stories from these families reveal the multilayered ways in which communication shapes familial power dynamics and fosters resilience.