Developing a sense of place in rural Alberta: experiences of newcomers

• Author / Creator

  Plaizier, Heather Mae

• This narrative inquiry uses the talking circle, a discourse process indigenous to the North American prairies, to explore the experiences of recent international migrants to rural Alberta. The immediate intention is to address questions of rural revitalization and the creation of welcoming communities. At a deeper level, it explores the role of history, cultural negotiation, and power relations in community development. It examines place as a critical element of human experience, which has been severed under modern economic regimes.
  Recommendations for how we might best respond to rural migration challenges include processes for listening and responding to needs, for building trustworthy relationships, and a call to recognize Aboriginal history. Findings also point to the importance of facilitating options for migrants with temporary status in a transient global context. The study advises that learning through attentive intercultural discourse could be integral to recreating democratic communities and establishing sense of place.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Narrative inquiry
  • Canadian prairies
  • Rural Alberta
  • Temporary foreign workers
  • Aboriginal history
  • Talking circles
  • Immigration
  • Welcoming communities
  • Community development
  • Rural revitalization
  • Intercultural discourse
  • Cultural negotiation

• Graduation date

  Fall 2009

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Education

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R34Q3G

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.