Date of Award

2009

Degree Type

Major Research Paper

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Immigration and Settlement Studies

First Advisor

Harold Bauder

Abstract

This exploratory research investigates James Côté's concept of "identity captial" in a multicultural workplace environment. Guided by Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical approach to capital, the focus is to examine the strategic deployment of identity capital between adults in a multicultural immigrant-serving agency in Mississauga, Ontario. After conducting fifteen interviews, the findings can be broadly summarized by the following: first, identity capital is deployed in social situations with the clients, colleagues and supervisor in the workplace; second, the deployment of identity capital, through greeting, body language, finding connecting pieces or the method of communication is one unconsciously; third, the strategic deployment of identity capital is indvidualized to the audience; and fourth, identity presentations has the potential to benefit the individual, the audience and the community. This paper concludes that identity capital is a useful concept that demonstrates the varied resources individuals have in negotiating and navigating the changing social environment.


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